When to Plant Tree Onion in Melbourne, Cool Temperate Guide
What this month normally looks like in Cool Temperate
In October the Cool Temperate zone normally runs 19°C by day and 8°C overnight, with about 67 mm of rain over 9 or 10 wet days. The coldest October night on record across the zone was -3.0°C, so a late frost is not out of the question. Averages 1991 to 2026, 28 postcodes, SILO.
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This Tree Onion guide is written for the Cool Temperate zone, which takes in Melbourne, Hobart and Geelong. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.
Not your zone? Cairns Brisbane Sydney Canberra Alice Springs Perth
Also handy: will it frost this week? and what grows in shade.
- Planting window
- Mar to Apr, Oct to Dec
- Days to harvest
- about 34 weeks
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Moderate
- Spacing
- 15 cm apart
The tree onion (Egyptian walking onion, topsetting onion) is a hardy perennial onion that grows clusters of 6 to 8 small bulbils on top of its stalks instead of flowers; the stalks topple and the bulbils root where they...
Published · By GardenBuddy.au
Planting dates, current conditions and prices on this page update daily.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Best Planting Window for Cool Temperate
- Jan -
- Feb -
- Mar P
- Apr P
- May -
- Jun -
- Jul -
- Aug -
- Sep -
- Oct P
- Nov P
- Dec P
P = Planting window
Plant bulbils in March and April, or in late spring, October to December, which Green Harvest advises for cooler areas; it is the most cold-hardy onion (Green Harvest). Bulbs are ready from November to February. Months are Green Harvest's cooler-area advice; harvest months derived.
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How to Grow Tree Onion in Cool Temperate Australia
- Soil
- Well drained, limed if acid; no fresh manure (Green Harvest).
- Salt
- Moderately sensitive. Copes with a little salt, but the harvest drops on salty bore water.
- pH Range
- Not given by the sources opened; lime acid soil (Green Harvest).
- Sunlight
- Full sun (Organic Gardener).
- Spacing
- 15cm apart, 30cm between rows
- Watering
- Moderate; never waterlogged.
- Good companions
- Lettuce, Tomato, Carrot, Cabbage, Spinach
- Keep away from
- Asparagus, Broad Beans, Climbing Beans, Dwarf Beans, Peas
Cool Temperate Growing Tips for Tree Onion
Recommended Varieties
- Tree onion
Key Challenges
- Few
Pro Tips
- Late spring planting (Green Harvest)
Pests and problems for Tree Onion in Cool Temperate
Harvesting Tree Onion
When ready: Bulbils when the stalks dry off (Green Harvest); bulbs in spring to early summer (Organic Gardener); green tops any time.
How to harvest: Snip tops, lift bulbs, pick bulbil heads (Organic Gardener).
Storing and preserving tree onion
How to keep it
- Drying bulbils. Dry on a screen out of the sun, then store cool and dry (Green Harvest). Keeps: 12 months.
What members get
- Soil and weather from your nearest station
- An email when it's time to sow
- Your own garden plan, including planning from a photo
- Price history and price alerts
- Pest risk alerts for your area
- Full salt and canning detail
Common Questions About Tree Onion
When do you plant tree onion in Australia?
It depends on your climate zone, not the calendar month alone. Planting months by zone:
- Tropical (Cairns): May to Aug
- Subtropical (Brisbane): May to Dec
- Warm Temperate (Sydney): May to Dec
- Cool Temperate (Melbourne): Mar to Apr, Oct to Dec
- Cold / Highland (Canberra): Oct to Dec
- Arid / Semi-Arid (Alice Springs): May to Aug
- Mediterranean (Perth): May to Dec
When should I plant Tree Onion in Melbourne?
Plant bulbils in March and April, or in late spring, October to December, which Green Harvest advises for cooler areas; it is the most cold-hardy onion (Green Harvest). Bulbs are ready from November to February. Months are Green Harvest's cooler-area advice; harvest months derived.
How do I know when Tree Onion are ready to harvest?
Bulbils when the stalks dry off (Green Harvest); bulbs in spring to early summer (Organic Gardener); green tops any time.
What are the best Tree Onion varieties for Melbourne?
Recommended varieties for the Cool Temperate zone include: Tree onion.
What grows well with Tree Onion?
Good companion plants for Tree Onion include: Lettuce, Tomato, Carrot, Cabbage, Spinach.
Are tree onion salt tolerant?
Only a little. Tree onion are moderately sensitive to salt, so the harvest drops on salty bore water. Mix salty water with rainwater, and mulch the bed.
Which zone am I in?
Type your postcode into the box near the top of the page and it tells you, and links this crop in your own zone if it differs. Or look it up on the grow zone map. This page is the Cool Temperate zone, Melbourne is its reference city.