One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when to plant tropical hibiscus is to consult the USDA zone info for Carbondale.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Hibiscus

Frost tolerance for tropical hibiscus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since tropical hibiscus require warm weather you must wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tropical hibiscus in Carbondale 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 tropical hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your tropical hibiscus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your tropical hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Carbondale. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Carbondale may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Carbondale it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your tropical hibiscus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Carbondale

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 Carbondale

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