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

In Elgin you can figure out when to plant elephant ears by using 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.

Elephant Ears require warm weather which tells us that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Elgin 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. If you wait any later than that and your elephant ears may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your elephant ears indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Elgin. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Elgin is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Elgin there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your elephant ears in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elgin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Elgin

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