One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The USDA zone info for Normal should be read to figure out when you can 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 ok in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hardy hibiscus in Normal 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Normal. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Normal is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Normal you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your hardy hibiscus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Normal

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 Normal

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