One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. 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 Chariton should be reviewed 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 the last frost.

It's probably 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 Chariton 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Chariton. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Chariton may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Chariton last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your elephant ears if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chariton

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 Chariton

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