When to Plant Elephant Ears in Truckee, CA

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.

It's possible to figure out when to plant elephant ears by checking out the USDA zone info for Truckee.


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.

Elephant Ears require warm weather which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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 Truckee 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your elephant ears indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Truckee. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Truckee and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Truckee you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your elephant ears in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Truckee

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Truckee

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