One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

The first chance to plant hibiscus in Rochester should be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

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 when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant hibiscus in Rochester 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rochester and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Rochester it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your hibiscus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rochester

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 Rochester

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