When to Plant Sorrel in East Alton, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant sorrel in East Alton can be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Sorrel

Frost tolerance for sorrel: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Sorrel are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can get them planted earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant sorrel in East Alton is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in East Alton. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for East Alton and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in East Alton last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your sorrel if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for East Alton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in East Alton

You may be interested in your other planting guides for East Alton.