When to Plant Elephant Ears in Lake Geneva, WI

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant elephant ears in Lake Geneva 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 has passed.

It's a bad idea to 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 Lake Geneva 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Lake Geneva. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Lake Geneva is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Lake Geneva you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your elephant ears in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Geneva

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 Lake Geneva

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Geneva.