How cold of temperatures can onions tolerate?

[drewskimac]

How cold of temperatures can onions tolerate? This is my first time growing onions and it is getting down to 27f tonight. Do I need to cover them or can they handle this?

 

[lazy gardener]

They should be fine. If you are worried, you can lay some hay, straw or other mulch over them, cover with a blanket, or just trust that they will be ok!

Generally, onion sets and peas can be planted just as soon as the soil is thawed. And require no protection. Transplants are a bit more tender.

 

[Trish1974]

Pretty darn cold. I think they will be fine at 27 degrees. You may have some frostbite on the tops of the green but they will grow out of it quickly.

 

[drewskimac]

Pretty darn cold. I think they will be fine at 27 degrees. You may have some frostbite on the tops of the green but they will grow out of it quickly.

Thankyou very much!

 

[lazy gardener]

It all depends. Are they sets you recently planted? Are they seedlings that you started in the house? How tall are the tops? If you've recently planted sets, they should be fine down to 20*, according to the literature. if they are seedlings that you've recently set out, I'd plan to cover them.

 

[drewskimac]

It all depends. Are they sets you recently planted? Are they seedlings that you started in the house? How tall are the tops? If you've recently planted sets, they should be fine down to 20*, according to the literature. if they are seedlings that you've recently set out, I'd plan to cover them.

They are sets and bulbs that I bought and planted. I planted them probably 4 weeks ago. They have established roots. The tops on the bulbs are about an inch tall and the tops on the sets are a few inches

 

[Birdsong 82]

Yes you should be fine. You must live in Virginia where the spring has been just wacky. Mid 70s tomorrow and snow on Saturday. Anyway I usually plan my onions extremely early and they have been exposed to freezing temperatures and have even had small amount of snowfall on them. Once they are established they can usually hold those temperatures. If the temperature goes lower then I Feel comfortable with I will throw on a layer of straw. Do that with all my Spring veggiesAnd so far so good

 

[camocutey]

I live in Colorado. I have onions in all of my outside beds, to help with pets control. We get pretty harsh winters temps here. My onions survive all winter and do not die back all the way. I pull up what I need every year and have plenty to give away. They spread like crazy.