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 earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Geneva should be determined by looking at 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.

Since elephant ears are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Geneva 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your elephant ears indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Geneva. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Geneva may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Geneva you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your elephant ears if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Geneva

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

Plants to Grow in Geneva

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