When to Plant Elephant Ears in Louisville, KY

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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 best time to plant elephant ears in Louisville should be figured out 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 the last frost.

It's probably a bad idea to plant elephant ears until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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 Louisville 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your elephant ears may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your elephant ears indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Louisville. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Louisville 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 Louisville you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your elephant ears in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Louisville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Louisville

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