frostdate name logo in white
frostdate name logo in white

When to Plant Elephant Ears in Tinley Park, IL

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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Tinley Park it's a good idea to determine when it's possible to plant elephant ears.


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 require warm weather which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last 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 Tinley Park 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

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Tinley Park may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Tinley Park there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your elephant ears in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Tinley Park

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 Tinley Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Tinley Park.