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.

You can determine when to plant elephant ears in Rutherford by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Elephant Ears

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

Elephant Ears are not cold tolerant which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Rutherford 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. Starting your elephant ears indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Rutherford. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rutherford and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Rutherford you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your elephant ears in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rutherford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Rutherford

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