One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

You can estimate when you can plant elephant ears in Monticello 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 the last frost.

Elephant Ears are not cold tolerant which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Monticello 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

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Monticello and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Monticello you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your elephant ears if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Monticello

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 Monticello

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