One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant elephant ears in Gainesville by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Elephant Ears

Frost tolerance for elephant ears:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Elephant Ears require warm weather which means that it is important 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 Gainesville 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. Any later than that and your elephant ears may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your elephant ears indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Gainesville. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Gainesville may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Gainesville it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your elephant ears in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gainesville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Gainesville

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