One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to estimate when you can plant hibiscus by using the USDA zone info for Ionia.

Planting Calendar for Hibiscus

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

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

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ionia. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Ionia is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ionia you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your hibiscus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ionia

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 Ionia

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