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.

The best time to plant hibiscus in San Francisco can be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Hibiscus

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

Since hibiscus do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant hibiscus in San Francisco is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your hibiscus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on January 31 in San Francisco. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for San Francisco is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in San Francisco there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to cover your hibiscus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Francisco

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in San Francisco

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Francisco.