Growing onions in zone 8
Bulbing is triggered by day length: long-day varieties for the North, short-day for the South, intermediate in between — the wrong type simply won’t bulb. Sets are easiest; transplants give bigger bulbs.
Zone 8 covers deep South, central Texas, coastal Pacific Northwest — two full gardens a year — a spring/summer garden and a serious fall/winter one. Zone dates are medians: frost timing varies within a zone with elevation and terrain, so treat these windows as a solid default and refine them with your own city’s dates below.
Make it local
These windows use zone 8's typical frost dates (last frost ~Mar 15, first frost ~Nov 15). For windows computed from your frost dates, run the ZIP code frost lookup and open the planting calendar — it remembers your city. The seed starting scheduler turns the whole seed rack into one printable, date-sorted list.
Frequently asked questions
When do I plant onions in zone 8?
Transplant Feb 1 – Feb 15, counted from zone 8's typical last frost around Mar 15. As a hardy crop it tolerates the light frosts on either side of that window.
When should I start seeds indoors for onions in zone 8?
Sow indoors Jan 4 – Jan 18 — that's 10 to 8 weeks before the typical Mar 15 last frost, giving sturdy transplants exactly when the garden is ready for them.
Can I direct sow onions in zone 8?
Yes — direct sow Feb 15 – Mar 1. Transplants buy a head start, but direct-sown plants catch up quickly once soil warms.