One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The best time to plant elephant ears in Frederick can be estimated 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 when the weather gets warmer.

You should not plant elephant ears until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Frederick 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. If you wait any later than that and your elephant ears may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your elephant ears indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Frederick. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Frederick is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Frederick it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your elephant ears in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Frederick

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

Plants to Grow in Frederick

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