When to Plant Elephant Ears in Milpitas, CA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening 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 you can plant elephant ears by reviewing the USDA zone info for Milpitas.


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 all chance of frost has passed 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 Milpitas is March. However, you really should wait until April 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. If you wait any later than that and your elephant ears may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your elephant ears indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Milpitas the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Milpitas and it is different every year. Half of the time in Milpitas last frost occurs after February 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 Milpitas

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Milpitas

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