When to Plant Shallots in Pontiac, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant shallots in Pontiac should be determined by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Shallots

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

Shallots are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant shallots in Pontiac 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 shallots and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your shallots may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your shallots indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Pontiac and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Pontiac you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your shallots if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Pontiac

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 Pontiac

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