One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 USDA zone info for Alachua can be looked at to figure out 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 much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hardy hibiscus in Alachua 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 hardy hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your hardy hibiscus may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your hardy hibiscus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Alachua. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Alachua is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Alachua you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your hardy hibiscus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Alachua

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Alachua

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