One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Smithfield you will be able to determine 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 the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since elephant ears are not cold tolerant you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Smithfield 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 little bit earlier by starting your elephant ears indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Smithfield. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Smithfield is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Smithfield it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your elephant ears in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Smithfield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Smithfield

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