When to Plant Tropical Hibiscus in Columbia, MO

One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 first opportunity to plant tropical hibiscus in Columbia should be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Tropical Hibiscus

Frost tolerance for tropical hibiscus: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

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

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant tropical hibiscus
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant tropical hibiscus
Probably not a good time to plant tropical hibiscus

The earliest that you can plant tropical hibiscus in Columbia 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 tropical hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tropical hibiscus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your tropical hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Columbia. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Columbia is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Columbia you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your tropical hibiscus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbia

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