One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 earliest that you can plant tropical hibiscus in Fort Madison can be estimated by using 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.

It's not a good idea to plant tropical hibiscus until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant tropical hibiscus in Fort Madison is April. However, you really should wait until May 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 August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tropical hibiscus may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your tropical hibiscus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Fort Madison. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Madison is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Fort Madison there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your tropical hibiscus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Madison

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Madison.