The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant elephant ears is to refer to the USDA zone info for Winchester.

Planting Calendar for Elephant Ears

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

Since elephant ears are not cold tolerant it's necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Winchester 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. If you are starting your elephant ears indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Winchester the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Winchester and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Winchester last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your elephant ears if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Winchester

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 Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°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 Winchester

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