When to Plant Tropical Hibiscus in Bloomington, IL

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

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Bloomington you will be able to estimate when it's possible 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 has passed.

It's probably a bad idea to plant tropical hibiscus until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

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 Bloomington 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. If you wait any later than that and your tropical hibiscus may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your tropical hibiscus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Bloomington. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Bloomington is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Bloomington it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your tropical hibiscus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bloomington

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 Bloomington

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