When to Plant Elephant Ears in Thurmont, MD

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

The USDA zone info for Thurmont can be looked at to determine when it's the best time to plant elephant ears.


Planting Calendar for Elephant Ears

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

Elephant Ears require warm weather which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up 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 Thurmont 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. 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 Thurmont. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Thurmont may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Thurmont it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your elephant ears if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Thurmont

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

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

Plants to Grow in Thurmont

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