When to Plant Hardy Hibiscus in Palm Desert, CA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Palm Desert should be used to estimate when it's a good idea to plant hardy hibiscus.


Planting Calendar for Hardy Hibiscus

Frost tolerance for hardy hibiscus: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since hardy hibiscus are very cold tolerant you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant hardy hibiscus in Palm Desert is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant hardy hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your hardy hibiscus may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your hardy hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Palm Desert. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Palm Desert is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Palm Desert you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your hardy hibiscus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Palm Desert

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Palm Desert

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Palm Desert.