When to Plant Elephant Ears in Greenville, IL

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.

It's possible to figure out when it's a good idea to plant elephant ears by looking at the USDA zone info for Greenville.


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 the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant elephant ears
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant elephant ears
Probably not a good time to plant elephant ears

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Greenville 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. Starting your elephant ears indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Greenville. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Greenville is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Greenville you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your elephant ears in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Greenville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Greenville

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