One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The first opportunity to plant elephant ears in Ottawa should be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Elephant Ears

Frost tolerance for elephant ears:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Elephant Ears require warm weather which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Ottawa is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant elephant ears and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your elephant ears may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your elephant ears 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 Ottawa. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ottawa is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Ottawa you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your elephant ears in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ottawa

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 Ottawa

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