When to Plant Elephant Ears in Fort Walton Beach, FL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Fort Walton Beach you should be able to determine when it's the best time 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.

You should not plant elephant ears until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

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 Fort Walton Beach 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 few weeks earlier by starting your elephant ears indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Fort Walton Beach the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Fort Walton Beach is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Fort Walton Beach it frosts late in the year after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your elephant ears if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Walton Beach

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)November 15
Lowest Expected Low15°F
Highest Expected Low20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Walton Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Walton Beach.