One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant elephant ears in Marco Island can be figured out 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 has passed.

Since elephant ears do not do well in cold weather it is important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Marco Island 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. Any later than that and your elephant ears may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your elephant ears indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Marco Island. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Marco Island is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Marco Island last frost occurs after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your elephant ears if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marco Island

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Marco Island

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Marco Island.