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.

A way of making a decision about when to plant hibiscus is to check out the USDA zone info for Cortez.

Planting Calendar for Hibiscus

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

Since hibiscus do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant hibiscus in Cortez is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your hibiscus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your hibiscus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Cortez the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Cortez is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Cortez you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your hibiscus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cortez

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Cortez

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