One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

In Ruston you can determine when it's possible to plant hardy hibiscus by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Hardy Hibiscus

Frost tolerance for hardy hibiscus:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant hardy hibiscus much earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

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

The last month that you can plant hardy hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your hardy hibiscus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your hardy hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Ruston. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ruston is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ruston there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your hardy hibiscus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ruston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Ruston

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