One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Zone 12a can be reffered to in order to estimate when it's the best time to plant elephant ears.

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.

Since elephant ears do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Zone 12a is January. However, you really should wait until February 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 November. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your elephant ears may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your elephant ears indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 12a it never frosts. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 50°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 12a is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since it never frosts in Zone 12a you do not have to be ready to cover your elephant ears in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 12a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 12a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	50°F
Highest Expected Low	55°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 55°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 12a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 12a.