One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Gainesville should be used to figure out when it's a good idea to plant tropical hibiscus.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Hibiscus

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

You should not plant tropical hibiscus until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant tropical hibiscus in Gainesville 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 tropical hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tropical hibiscus may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your tropical hibiscus indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Gainesville. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Gainesville is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Gainesville you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your tropical hibiscus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gainesville

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 Gainesville

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