When to Plant Hibiscus in Gurnee, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Gurnee can be looked at to figure out when to plant hibiscus.


Planting Calendar for Hibiscus

Frost tolerance for hibiscus: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's probably a bad idea to plant hibiscus until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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

The earliest that you can plant hibiscus in Gurnee 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 hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your hibiscus may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your hibiscus indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Gurnee the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Gurnee is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Gurnee last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your hibiscus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gurnee

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 Gurnee

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