One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

A way of getting a good idea when you can plant caladium is to consult the USDA zone info for Elmira.

Planting Calendar for Caladium

Frost tolerance for caladium:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's probably not a good idea to plant caladium until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant caladium in Elmira 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 caladium and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your caladium may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your caladium indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Elmira. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Elmira is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Elmira it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your caladium if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Elmira

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 Elmira

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