Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 Lapeer it's possible to estimate when it's a good idea 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.

It's not a good idea to plant elephant ears until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Lapeer 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

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Lapeer. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Lapeer is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Lapeer it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your elephant ears if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lapeer

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 Lapeer

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