Best time to plant shallot in Melbourne
Allium cepa var. aggregatum
Also called French shallot, French red shallot
Sow shallot in Melbourne in Jul to Sep.
A shallot is a type of onion, grown for small clustered bulbs with a mild, sweet flavour, and treated as its own species until it was merged into Allium cepa in 2010. Australian usage can confuse: in New South Wales the word may mean a scallion, while 'French shallot' points to this plant.
When to sow in Melbourne
Melbourne, VIC is in the cool zone. Its months for shallot apply here without a frost adjustment.
Broadly matches local guides, with some differences.
Your local conditions can shift any months shown here, so treat them as a guide.
Frost in Melbourne
Frost usually arrives in Melbourne around mid June and finishes by late August. In about 1 year in 10 it comes as early as late May or as late as late September, so frost-tender crops are planned around those dates.
From the average of its 2 Bureau of Meteorology stations, 1991 to 2020, counting a night at 2°C or lower as a frost. Frost hollows and hillsides can shift these dates by weeks, so ask the growers at your garden too.
On a shared plot: suits a plot
Finishes in a season and stays within its space, so it suits most plots.
Growing details
- How to start
- Sow directly in the bed
- Sowing depth
- 5cm
- Plant spacing
- 15cm
- Row spacing
- 20cm
- Height
- 30cm
- Frost
- Hardy, takes a light frost
- Sun
- Full sun
- Life cycle
- perennial, usually grown as an annual
These are typical figures, and varieties differ. Your seed packet takes priority.