One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Des Plaines it's a good idea to determine when to plant scallions.

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.

Scallions do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant scallions in Des Plaines 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your scallions may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your scallions indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Des Plaines. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Des Plaines is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Des Plaines you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your scallions in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Des Plaines

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 Des Plaines

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Des Plaines.