When to Plant Pearl onions in Zone 3b

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can figure out when it's possible to plant pearl onions in Zone 3b by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Pearl onions

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

Since pearl onions are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant pearl onions in Zone 3b is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant pearl onions and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your pearl onions may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pearl onions indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 3b the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 3b is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 3b there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to protect your pearl onions in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-35°F
Highest Expected Low-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3b.