When to Plant Hibiscus in San Luis Obispo, CA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to figure out when you can plant hibiscus by looking at the USDA zone info for San Luis Obispo.


Planting Calendar for Hibiscus

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

Hibiscus require warm weather which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer 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 San Luis Obispo 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 hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your hibiscus may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your hibiscus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for San Luis Obispo and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in San Luis Obispo it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your hibiscus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Luis Obispo

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 San Luis Obispo

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Luis Obispo.