One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant tropical hibiscus is to consult the USDA zone info for West Lafayette.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Hibiscus

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

You can not plant tropical hibiscus until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant tropical hibiscus in West Lafayette 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your tropical hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in West Lafayette. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for West Lafayette is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in West Lafayette there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your tropical hibiscus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for West Lafayette

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 West Lafayette

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Lafayette.