Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when you can plant elephant ears is to refer to the USDA zone info for Carlsbad.

Planting Calendar for Elephant Ears

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant elephant ears until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Carlsbad is February. However, you really should wait until March 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 September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your elephant ears may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your elephant ears indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Carlsbad. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Carlsbad is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Carlsbad you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so always be ready to cover your elephant ears in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Carlsbad

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Carlsbad

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