When to Plant Tropical Hibiscus in San Marcos, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The first opportunity to plant tropical hibiscus in San Marcos can be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Tropical Hibiscus

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

Tropical Hibiscus require warm weather which tells us that it is necessary 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 tropical hibiscus
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant tropical hibiscus
Probably not a good time to plant tropical hibiscus

The earliest that you can plant tropical hibiscus in San Marcos 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. If you wait any later than that and your tropical hibiscus may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your tropical hibiscus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In San Marcos the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for San Marcos may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in San Marcos you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to protect your tropical hibiscus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for San Marcos

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in San Marcos

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