One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Bartow you should be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant elephant ears.

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 are not cold tolerant which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Bartow 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. 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 little bit earlier by starting your elephant ears indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Bartow the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bartow is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Bartow there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your elephant ears if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bartow

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 Bartow

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