One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant hibiscus in Shafter can be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Hibiscus

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant hibiscus until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant hibiscus in Shafter 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your hibiscus may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your hibiscus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Shafter the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Shafter is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Shafter last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your hibiscus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Shafter

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Shafter

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