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

The best time to plant hibiscus in East Lansing can be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Hibiscus

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

Since hibiscus do not do well in cold weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant hibiscus in East Lansing 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. If you wait any later than that and your hibiscus may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your hibiscus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in East Lansing. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for East Lansing is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in East Lansing it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your hibiscus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for East Lansing

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 East Lansing

You may be interested in your other planting guides for East Lansing.