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

The USDA zone info for Dawson can be read 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 all chance of frost has passed.

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

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Dawson 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. Starting your elephant ears indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Dawson the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Dawson may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Dawson it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your elephant ears in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dawson

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 Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 Dawson

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