When to Plant Hibiscus in River Forest, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 to plant hibiscus in River Forest by referring to the USDA zone info.


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 require warm weather.

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 River Forest 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in River Forest. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for River Forest may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in River Forest it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your hibiscus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for River Forest

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in River Forest

You may be interested in your other planting guides for River Forest.