When to Plant Tree onions in Portland, OR

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant tree onions in Portland can be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Tree onions

Frost tolerance for tree onions: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Tree onions tend to make it in a tiny bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant tree onions
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant tree onions
Probably not a good time to plant tree onions

The earliest that you can plant tree onions in Portland is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant tree onions and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your tree onions may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your tree onions indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Portland. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Portland is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Portland you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your tree onions in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Portland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)November 15
Lowest Expected Low15°F
Highest Expected Low20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Portland

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Portland.