One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can figure out when it's possible to plant tropical hibiscus in Rantoul by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Hibiscus

Frost tolerance for tropical hibiscus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's not a good idea to plant tropical hibiscus until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant tropical hibiscus in Rantoul 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

In Rantoul 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 Rantoul is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Rantoul last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your tropical hibiscus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rantoul

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 Rantoul

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