One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when you can plant hibiscus is to consult the USDA zone info for Opelousas.

Planting Calendar for Hibiscus

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant hibiscus until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant hibiscus in Opelousas 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. Any later than that and your hibiscus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your hibiscus indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Opelousas. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Opelousas is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Opelousas you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your hibiscus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Opelousas

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Opelousas

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