When to Plant Elephant Ears in Belgrade, MT

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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 Belgrade should be used 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 when the weather gets warmer.

Since elephant ears are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until 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 Belgrade is May. However, you really should wait until June 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. Starting your elephant ears indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Belgrade. It might get as low as -30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Belgrade is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Belgrade there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your elephant ears in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Belgrade

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-30°F
Highest Expected Low-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Belgrade

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