Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 Ocala can be looked at to figure out when it's the best time 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.

Hardy Hibiscus do well in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant hardy hibiscus in Ocala is January. However, you really should wait until February 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 October. Any later than that and your hardy hibiscus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your hardy hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Ocala. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ocala may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ocala it frosts late in the year after February 15 so always be ready to cover your hardy hibiscus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ocala

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 Ocala

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