Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when it's a good idea to plant elephant ears is to examine the USDA zone info for Grand Island.

Planting Calendar for Elephant Ears

Frost tolerance for elephant ears:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You really shouldn't plant elephant ears until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Grand Island 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your elephant ears indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Grand Island the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Grand Island may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Grand Island you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your elephant ears in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Grand Island

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 Grand Island

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Grand Island.