When to Plant Elephant Ears in Spring Valley, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant elephant ears in Spring Valley can be estimated by checking out 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.

Elephant Ears do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost 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 Spring Valley 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. 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

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

Since the USDA zone info for Spring Valley may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Spring Valley you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your elephant ears if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Spring Valley

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 Spring Valley

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Spring Valley.