When to Plant Elephant Ears in Bristol, PA

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Bristol you can figure out when it's possible to plant elephant ears by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Elephant Ears

Frost tolerance for elephant ears: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You should not plant elephant ears until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

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 Bristol 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bristol the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bristol and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Bristol it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your elephant ears in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bristol

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 Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°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 Bristol

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