Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when to plant elephant ears by using the USDA zone info for Zone 5b.

Planting Calendar for Elephant Ears

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

Since elephant ears do not do well in cold weather it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Zone 5b 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 really do well. Starting your elephant ears indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Zone 5b. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 5b is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 5b it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your elephant ears if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 5b

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 Zone 5b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 5b.