Living in eastern Washington and living in zone 6a, I normally plant my onion sets in the spring. However in order to purchase a variety of shallots, I ordered shallot bulbs by mail order.
They only ship shallots in the fall, and said to plant them immediately. Won't our freezing winters destroy the shallot bulbs in the ground? This is a substantial investment for me and I don't want to lose this crop. The bulbs arrived at my home yesterday.
Garlic is planted in the fall, so shallots must be also. I used to live in an old house which had a yard planted to the hilt. I found shallots growing there [Portland, Ore]which had regenerated every year [my introduction to shallots]. Just cover the area with straw or dried grass mulch to keep it a bit warmer, or even a piece of old wool blanket or sweater and then straw.Or leaf mulch. When I moved into the old house, the whole yard had years of leaf mulch which had drifted down on everything and been left by the old lady who had lived there. But in the spring, everything came up and it was paradise.
Many gardeners put their garlic and onions into the ground in the fall. They are winter hardy and a little snow is not going to bother them at all. Good luck.
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