One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

In Melbourne you can estimate when to plant hibiscus by using 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 not a good 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 Melbourne 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. Any later than that and your hibiscus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Melbourne. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Melbourne and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Melbourne you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your hibiscus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Melbourne

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Melbourne

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