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

You can determine when to plant tropical hibiscus in Downey by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Hibiscus

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

You really shouldn't plant tropical hibiscus until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant tropical hibiscus in Downey 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 tropical hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your tropical hibiscus may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your tropical hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on January 31 in Downey. You should expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Downey is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Downey you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so always be ready to protect your tropical hibiscus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Downey

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 Downey

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