When to Plant Hibiscus in Princeton, NJ

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant hibiscus by using the USDA zone info for Princeton.


Planting Calendar for Hibiscus

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

You can not plant hibiscus until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant hibiscus in Princeton 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Princeton. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Princeton is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Princeton it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your hibiscus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Princeton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Princeton

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