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 a good idea to determine when you can plant elephant ears by referring to the USDA zone info for Normal.

Planting Calendar for Elephant Ears

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

Since elephant ears are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Normal 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your elephant ears indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Normal may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Normal last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your elephant ears if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Normal

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 Normal

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