One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 first opportunity to plant elephant ears in Marquette should be figured out by reviewing 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 has passed.

It's probably not a good idea to plant elephant ears until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Marquette 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 few weeks earlier by starting your elephant ears indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Marquette the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Marquette is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Marquette last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your elephant ears in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Marquette

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 Marquette

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