One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant elephant ears is to examine the USDA zone info for Port Allen.

Planting Calendar for Elephant Ears

Frost tolerance for elephant ears:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's a bad idea to plant elephant ears until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Port Allen 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. If you are starting your elephant ears indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Port Allen the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Port Allen is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Port Allen last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your elephant ears in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Port Allen

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Port Allen

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Port Allen.