When to Plant Hibiscus in Wilmington, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

In Wilmington you can determine when it's the best time to plant hibiscus by checking out the USDA zone info.

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Planting Calendar for Hibiscus

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

Since hibiscus do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant hibiscus
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant hibiscus
Probably not a good time to plant hibiscus

The earliest that you can plant hibiscus in Wilmington 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 hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your hibiscus may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your hibiscus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Wilmington. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Wilmington may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Wilmington last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your hibiscus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wilmington

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 Wilmington

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