One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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 getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant elephant ears is to check out the USDA zone info for Minooka.

Planting Calendar for Elephant Ears

Frost tolerance for elephant ears:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You really shouldn't plant elephant ears until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Minooka 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. Starting your elephant ears indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Minooka. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Minooka is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Minooka there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your elephant ears in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Minooka

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 Minooka

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