When to Plant Bunching Onions in Charleston, SC

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Charleston you will be able to determine when you can plant bunching onions.


Planting Calendar for Bunching Onions

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

You can plant bunching onions a bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

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

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

The last month that you can plant bunching onions and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bunching onions may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your bunching onions indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Charleston the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Charleston is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Charleston last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your bunching onions in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charleston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low20°F
Highest Expected Low25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Charleston

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