When to Plant Hibiscus in Urbana, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to figure out when to plant hibiscus by checking out the USDA zone info for Urbana.


Planting Calendar for Hibiscus

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

Hibiscus are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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 Urbana 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. Any later than that and your hibiscus may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your hibiscus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Urbana. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Urbana is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Urbana you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your hibiscus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Urbana

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 Urbana

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