One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Cedar Rapids it's a good idea to figure out when you can 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.

It's not a good idea to plant elephant ears until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Cedar Rapids 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your elephant ears indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Cedar Rapids. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Cedar Rapids is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Cedar Rapids you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your elephant ears if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cedar Rapids

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Cedar Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cedar Rapids.