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

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant elephant ears is to refer to the USDA zone info for Genoa.

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 really shouldn't plant elephant ears until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Genoa 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Genoa the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Genoa is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Genoa it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your elephant ears in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Genoa

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 Genoa

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