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

The USDA zone info for New Orleans should be reffered to in order to determine when to plant hibiscus.

Planting Calendar for Hibiscus

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

Since hibiscus are not cold tolerant you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant hibiscus in New Orleans is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your hibiscus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in New Orleans. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for New Orleans is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in New Orleans you get a frost after February 15 so always be ready to protect your hibiscus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New Orleans

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in New Orleans

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Orleans.