One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. 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 Eaton should be read to figure out when you can 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.

It's probably not a good idea to plant elephant ears until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Eaton 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your elephant ears indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Eaton. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Eaton is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Eaton there is a last 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 Eaton

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 Eaton

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