Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Ridgecrest should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Elephant Ears

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

It's a bad idea to plant elephant ears until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Ridgecrest 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. Any later than that and 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 March 15 in Ridgecrest. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ridgecrest is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ridgecrest you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your elephant ears if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ridgecrest

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 Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 Ridgecrest

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