One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Winters you should be able to estimate when you can plant elephant ears.

Planting Calendar for Elephant Ears

Frost tolerance for elephant ears:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

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

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Winters 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your elephant ears indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Winters. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Winters is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Winters last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your elephant ears in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Winters

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 Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 Winters

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