When to Plant Elephant Ears in Round Lake, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to determine when to plant elephant ears by checking out the USDA zone info for Round Lake.


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.

Since elephant ears do not do well in cold weather you have to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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 Round Lake 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your elephant ears indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Round Lake is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Round Lake 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 Round Lake

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 Round Lake

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