frostdate name logo in white
frostdate name logo in white

When to Plant Hardy Hibiscus in Highland Park, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant hardy hibiscus in Highland Park by referring to the USDA zone info.


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 ok in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant hardy hibiscus in Highland Park is February. However, you really should wait until March 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 September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your hardy hibiscus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your hardy hibiscus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Highland Park the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Highland Park is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Highland Park there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your hardy hibiscus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Highland Park

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 Highland Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Highland Park.