Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Raleigh you can determine when it's a good idea to plant hardy hibiscus by looking at 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.

Hardy Hibiscus do well in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant hardy hibiscus in Raleigh 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your hardy hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Raleigh. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Raleigh is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Raleigh there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your hardy hibiscus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Raleigh

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Raleigh

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