One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of determining when it's a good idea to plant elephant ears is to check out the USDA zone info for Westminster.

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.

Since elephant ears are not cold tolerant it's important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Westminster 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. If you wait any later than that and your elephant ears may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your elephant ears indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on January 31 in Westminster. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Westminster is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Westminster it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to protect your elephant ears if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Westminster

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Westminster

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