When to Plant Elephant Ears in Lancaster, CA

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

The USDA zone info for Lancaster can be read to estimate when it's a good idea to plant elephant ears.


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.

You can not plant elephant ears until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant elephant ears
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant elephant ears
Probably not a good time to plant elephant ears

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Lancaster 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your elephant ears may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your elephant ears indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Lancaster the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Lancaster may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Lancaster last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your elephant ears if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lancaster

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)November 15
Lowest Expected Low15°F
Highest Expected Low20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Lancaster

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