When to Plant Tropical Hibiscus in Melbourne, FL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can figure out when to plant tropical hibiscus in Melbourne by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Tropical Hibiscus

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

Tropical Hibiscus are not cold tolerant which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant tropical hibiscus
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant tropical hibiscus
Probably not a good time to plant tropical hibiscus

The earliest that you can plant tropical 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 tropical hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and 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

In Melbourne the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Melbourne is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Melbourne you get a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your tropical 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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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.