When to Plant Tropical Hibiscus in Palos Heights, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Palos Heights it's possible to estimate when it's a good idea 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.

Since tropical hibiscus are not cold tolerant it's necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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 Palos Heights 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. Any later than that and your tropical hibiscus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your tropical hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Palos Heights the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Palos Heights is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Palos Heights last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your tropical hibiscus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Palos Heights

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 Palos Heights

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Palos Heights.