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

A way of making a decision about when you can plant elephant ears is to look at the USDA zone info for Lake Bluff.

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 probably not a good idea to plant elephant ears until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Lake Bluff 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. 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Lake Bluff is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Lake Bluff there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your elephant ears if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Bluff

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 Lake Bluff

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Bluff.