When to Plant Scallions in Champaign, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A common way of determining when it's the best time to plant scallions is to refer to the USDA zone info for Champaign.

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Planting Calendar for Scallions

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

Since scallions do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant scallions in Champaign is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant scallions and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your scallions may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your scallions indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Champaign. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Champaign and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Champaign there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your scallions if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Champaign

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Champaign

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Champaign.