When to Plant Elephant Ears in Auburn, NY

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

The USDA zone info for Auburn can be reffered to in order to estimate 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 all chance of frost has passed.

Elephant Ears require warm weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer 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 Auburn 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. If you wait any later than that and 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Auburn. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Auburn and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Auburn you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your elephant ears in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Auburn

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 Auburn

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