When to Plant Elephant Ears in Peru, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Peru should be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.


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 Peru 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 really do well. If you are starting your elephant ears indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Peru the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Peru is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Peru last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your elephant ears if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Peru

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 Peru

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