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 estimating when you can plant tropical hibiscus is to refer to the USDA zone info for Arcata.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Hibiscus

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

You should not plant tropical hibiscus until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant tropical hibiscus in Arcata is March. However, you really should wait until April 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 September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tropical hibiscus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your tropical hibiscus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Arcata the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Arcata may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Arcata it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your tropical hibiscus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Arcata

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Arcata

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