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.

One way of estimating when you can plant elephant ears is to refer to the USDA zone info for Atoka.

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.

It's not a good idea to plant elephant ears until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Atoka 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your elephant ears indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Atoka. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Atoka and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Atoka you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your elephant ears in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Atoka

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Atoka

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