Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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.

You should be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant elephant ears by checking out the USDA zone info for Ypsilanti.

Planting Calendar for Elephant Ears

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

Elephant Ears are not cold tolerant which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Ypsilanti 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 grow to maturity. 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 Ypsilanti the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ypsilanti is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ypsilanti it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your elephant ears in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ypsilanti

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Ypsilanti

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