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Onions

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When to plant onions

Plant sets or transplants. Bulbing is set by day length: north of about 35° grow long-day varieties, nearer the equator short-day ones.

Photo: Nahid.rajbd, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The rules we use

Frost
Hardy. Can go in 4 weeks before the average last frost.
Start indoors
8–10 weeks before planting out
Soil warm enough
Weekly mean around 6°C43°F or more
Heat limit
Average highs above 35°C95°F while it matures (it bolts)
Days to harvest
About 100 days from planting out in warm weather; longer when it is cool
Picking
About 4 weeks from one planting

General guidance, kept on the cautious side. Varieties differ: check the seed packet. How the dates are worked out.

At a glance

Grows outdoors in
89 of 89 cities
Earliest start (north)
Los Angeles, January 1
Latest start (north)
Las Vegas, December 27
Can go in this week
20 cities

Onions: city by city

Sorted from the earliest start after midwinter to the latest. Southern-hemisphere cities follow, with their seasons six months on.

Sow indoorsSow or plant outdoorsHarvestFrost seasonToday

Northern hemisphere
Los AngelesCalifornia
San DiegoCalifornia
San FranciscoCalifornia
San JoseCalifornia
HonoluluHawaii
HoustonTexas
CharlestonSouth Carolina
TucsonArizona
AustinTexas
San AntonioTexas
DallasTexas
El PasoTexas
PortlandOregon
SeattleWashington
MemphisTennessee
BirminghamAlabama
Little RockArkansas
AtlantaGeorgia
VancouverBritish Columbia
CharlotteNorth Carolina
RaleighNorth Carolina
NashvilleTennessee
TulsaOklahoma
RichmondVirginia
LouisvilleKentucky
WashingtonDistrict of Columbia
Oklahoma CityOklahoma
LondonEngland
CardiffWales
ManchesterEngland
AlbuquerqueNew Mexico
BristolEngland
BaltimoreMaryland
St. LouisMissouri
Kansas CityMissouri
Salt Lake CityUtah
DublinIreland
PhiladelphiaPennsylvania
BelfastNorthern Ireland
CincinnatiOhio
ColumbusOhio
IndianapolisIndiana
BirminghamEngland
New YorkNew York
PittsburghPennsylvania
GlasgowScotland
OmahaNebraska
Des MoinesIowa
BoiseIdaho
EdinburghScotland
ClevelandOhio
ChicagoIllinois
SpokaneWashington
BostonMassachusetts
DetroitMichigan
DenverColorado
BillingsMontana
MilwaukeeWisconsin
MinneapolisMinnesota
MadisonWisconsin
PortlandMaine
TorontoOntario
BuffaloNew York
FargoNorth Dakota
MontrealQuebec
BurlingtonVermont
OttawaOntario
WinnipegManitoba
HalifaxNova Scotia
CalgaryAlberta
EdmontonAlberta
AnchorageAlaska
JacksonvilleFlorida
MiamiFlorida
SacramentoCalifornia
New OrleansLouisiana
OrlandoFlorida
TampaFlorida
PhoenixArizona
FresnoCalifornia
Las VegasNevada
Southern hemisphere
HobartTasmania
CanberraAustralian Capital Territory
SydneyNew South Wales
MelbourneVictoria
BrisbaneQueensland
PerthWestern Australia
AdelaideSouth Australia
AucklandNew Zealand

Swipe sideways to see the whole year →

Dates

CitySow indoorsPlant outHarvest
Los Angeles CaliforniaOct 23 – Nov 27Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
San Diego CaliforniaOct 23 – Nov 27Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
San Francisco CaliforniaOct 23 – Nov 27Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
San Jose CaliforniaOct 23 – Nov 27Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Honolulu HawaiiOct 23 – Nov 27Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Houston TexasJul 16 – Aug 7, Oct 24 – Nov 28Jan 2 – May 27, Sep 24 – Oct 2Apr 9 – Sep 5, Dec 15 – Dec 28
Charleston South CarolinaMay 30 – Jul 4, Oct 29 – Dec 3Jan 7 – Jul 6, Aug 8 – Sep 23May 1 – Oct 15, Oct 21 – Dec 30
Tucson ArizonaOct 30 – Dec 4Jan 8 – Mar 17Apr 16 – Jun 27
Austin TexasNov 14 – Dec 19Jan 23 – Apr 30Apr 26 – Aug 9
San Antonio TexasNov 14 – Dec 19Jan 23 – Apr 27Apr 22 – Aug 6
Dallas TexasNov 24 – Dec 29Feb 2 – Apr 25May 9 – Aug 4
El Paso TexasNov 24 – Dec 29Feb 2 – Mar 29May 13 – Jul 10
Portland OregonDec 5 – Jan 9Feb 13 – Aug 6Jul 1 – Nov 19
Seattle WashingtonDec 5 – Jan 9Feb 13 – Aug 1Jul 9 – Nov 17
Memphis TennesseeDec 8 – Jan 12Feb 16 – Jun 20May 29 – Sep 29
Birmingham AlabamaDec 13 – Jan 17Feb 21 – Jun 13May 25 – Sep 22
Little Rock ArkansasDec 13 – Jan 17Feb 21 – Jun 14May 26 – Sep 23
Atlanta GeorgiaDec 16 – Jan 20, May 26 – Jun 25Feb 24 – Jul 9, Aug 4 – Aug 20May 28 – Nov 8
Vancouver British ColumbiaDec 19 – Jan 23Feb 27 – Jul 26Jul 11 – Nov 5
Charlotte North CarolinaDec 22 – Jan 26Mar 2 – Jun 23Jun 2 – Oct 2
Raleigh North CarolinaDec 23 – Jan 27, Jun 3 – Jun 21Mar 3 – Jun 28, Aug 12 – Aug 16Jun 5 – Oct 7, Oct 29 – Nov 4
Nashville TennesseeDec 23 – Jan 27Mar 3 – Jun 20Jun 6 – Sep 29
Tulsa OklahomaDec 23 – Jan 27, Mar 29 – Apr 24Mar 3 – May 17, Jun 7 – Jun 19Jun 5 – Sep 28
Richmond VirginiaDec 26 – Jan 30Mar 6 – Jun 26Jun 11 – Oct 5
Louisville KentuckyDec 26 – Jan 30Mar 6 – Aug 12Jun 14 – Nov 3
Washington District of ColumbiaDec 27 – Jan 31, May 25 – Jun 23Mar 7 – Jul 14, Aug 3 – Aug 18Jun 17 – Nov 18
Oklahoma City OklahomaDec 27 – Jan 31, Mar 31 – Apr 19Mar 7 – May 10, Jun 9 – Jun 14Jun 4 – Aug 19, Aug 22 – Sep 23
London EnglandDec 27 – Jan 31Mar 7 – Aug 2Jul 11 – Nov 21
Cardiff WalesDec 27 – Jan 31Mar 7 – Jul 30Jul 18 – Nov 25
Manchester EnglandDec 28 – Feb 1Mar 8 – Jul 23Jul 18 – Nov 16
Albuquerque New MexicoDec 29 – Feb 2Mar 9 – Jun 6Jun 15 – Sep 15
Bristol EnglandDec 29 – Feb 2Mar 9 – Jul 29Jul 18 – Nov 22
Baltimore MarylandDec 31 – Feb 4, May 15 – Jun 19Mar 11 – Jul 18, Jul 24 – Aug 19Jun 19 – Nov 21
St. Louis MissouriDec 31 – Feb 4Mar 11 – Jul 3Jun 16 – Oct 12
Kansas City MissouriDec 31 – Feb 4Mar 11 – Jun 30Jun 18 – Oct 9
Salt Lake City UtahJan 1 – Feb 5, Mar 30 – Apr 28Mar 12 – May 7, Jun 8 – Jun 23Jun 30 – Oct 2
Dublin IrelandJan 5 – Feb 9Mar 16 – Jul 16Jul 28 – Nov 10
Philadelphia PennsylvaniaJan 6 – Feb 10Mar 17 – Aug 14Jun 25 – Nov 10
Belfast Northern IrelandJan 6 – Feb 10Mar 17 – Jul 13Jul 26 – Nov 7
Cincinnati OhioJan 8 – Feb 12Mar 19 – Aug 5Jun 23 – Oct 25
Columbus OhioJan 10 – Feb 14Mar 21 – Aug 4Jun 28 – Oct 27
Indianapolis IndianaJan 10 – Feb 14Mar 21 – Aug 4Jun 27 – Oct 26
Birmingham EnglandJan 11 – Feb 15Mar 22 – Jul 17Jul 27 – Nov 10
New York New YorkJan 12 – Feb 16Mar 23 – Aug 15Jul 2 – Nov 20
Pittsburgh PennsylvaniaJan 12 – Feb 16Mar 23 – Aug 4Jun 30 – Oct 28
Glasgow ScotlandJan 12 – Feb 16Mar 23 – Jul 5Aug 6 – Nov 3
Omaha NebraskaJan 13 – Feb 17Mar 24 – Jul 31Jun 30 – Oct 21
Des Moines IowaJan 16 – Feb 20Mar 27 – Jul 29Jul 2 – Oct 20
Boise IdahoJan 16 – Feb 20Mar 27 – Jul 6Jul 8 – Oct 15
Edinburgh ScotlandJan 19 – Feb 23Mar 30 – Jul 3Aug 12 – Oct 31
Cleveland OhioJan 20 – Feb 24Mar 31 – Aug 7Jul 7 – Nov 12
Chicago IllinoisJan 21 – Feb 25Apr 1 – Aug 2Jul 10 – Oct 31
Spokane WashingtonJan 21 – Feb 25Apr 1 – Jul 18Jul 19 – Oct 15
Boston MassachusettsJan 23 – Feb 27Apr 3 – Aug 5Jul 12 – Nov 9
Detroit MichiganJan 24 – Feb 28Apr 4 – Aug 2Jul 11 – Oct 31
Denver ColoradoJan 26 – Mar 2Apr 6 – Jun 30Jul 12 – Oct 8
Billings MontanaJan 26 – Mar 2Apr 6 – Jul 15Jul 19 – Oct 7
Milwaukee WisconsinJan 28 – Mar 4Apr 8 – Jul 29Jul 17 – Oct 29
Minneapolis MinnesotaJan 28 – Mar 4Apr 8 – Jul 24Jul 12 – Oct 18
Madison WisconsinFeb 1 – Mar 8Apr 12 – Jul 20Jul 18 – Oct 10
Portland MaineFeb 2 – Mar 9Apr 13 – Jul 21Jul 22 – Oct 15
Toronto OntarioFeb 3 – Mar 10Apr 14 – Jul 20Jul 21 – Oct 9
Buffalo New YorkFeb 4 – Mar 11Apr 15 – Jul 29Jul 21 – Oct 26
Fargo North DakotaFeb 7 – Mar 14Apr 18 – Jul 12Jul 20 – Sep 30
Montreal QuebecFeb 7 – Mar 14Apr 18 – Jul 18Jul 21 – Oct 9
Burlington VermontFeb 8 – Mar 15Apr 19 – Jul 22Jul 25 – Oct 15
Ottawa OntarioFeb 10 – Mar 17Apr 21 – Jul 14Jul 23 – Oct 2
Winnipeg ManitobaFeb 16 – Mar 23Apr 27 – Jul 4Jul 30 – Sep 22
Halifax Nova ScotiaFeb 16 – Mar 23Apr 27 – Jul 20Aug 9 – Oct 17
Calgary AlbertaFeb 17 – Mar 24Apr 28 – Jun 11Aug 15 – Sep 10
Edmonton AlbertaFeb 17 – Mar 24Apr 28 – Jun 23Aug 8 – Sep 19
Anchorage AlaskaFeb 20 – Mar 27May 1 – Jun 6Aug 25 – Sep 29
Jacksonville FloridaJun 20 – Jul 25Aug 29 – Jun 15Nov 11 – Sep 24
Miami FloridaJun 28 – Aug 2Sep 6 – Jul 20Nov 19 – Oct 29
Sacramento CaliforniaJul 6 – Aug 10Sep 14 – Jun 13Jan 2 – Sep 22
New Orleans LouisianaJul 7 – Aug 11Sep 15 – Jun 2Dec 3 – Sep 11
Orlando FloridaJul 10 – Aug 14Sep 18 – May 25Dec 1 – Sep 3
Tampa FloridaJul 11 – Aug 15Sep 19 – May 28Dec 2 – Sep 6
Phoenix ArizonaAug 12 – Sep 16Oct 21 – Mar 7Jan 29 – Jun 17
Fresno CaliforniaOct 8 – Nov 12Dec 17 – Apr 13Apr 27 – Jul 24
Las Vegas NevadaOct 18 – Nov 22Dec 27 – Mar 26Apr 24 – Jul 6
Hobart TasmaniaMay 19 – Jun 23Jul 28 – Feb 5Dec 20 – Jun 7
Canberra Australian Capital TerritoryJun 19 – Jul 24Aug 28 – Feb 4Dec 17 – May 3
Sydney New South WalesOct 23 – Nov 27Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Melbourne VictoriaOct 23 – Nov 27Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Brisbane QueenslandOct 23 – Nov 27Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Perth Western AustraliaOct 23 – Nov 27Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Adelaide South AustraliaOct 23 – Nov 27Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Auckland New ZealandOct 23 – Nov 27Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31

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