One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when it's the best time to plant elephant ears is to look at the USDA zone info for Fairbanks.

Planting Calendar for Elephant Ears

Frost tolerance for elephant ears:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's not a good idea to plant elephant ears until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Fairbanks is May. However, you really should wait until June 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. Any later than that and your elephant ears may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your elephant ears indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Fairbanks. It might get as low as -50°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Fairbanks may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Fairbanks it frosts late in the year after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your elephant ears if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fairbanks

Here is the info for USDA Zone 2a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	August 15
Lowest Expected Low	-50°F
Highest Expected Low	-45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -45°F.

Plants to Grow in Fairbanks

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