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

In Utica you can determine when it's the best time to plant tropical hibiscus by looking at 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 has passed.

Tropical Hibiscus do not do well in cold weather which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tropical hibiscus in Utica 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your tropical hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Utica. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Utica is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Utica it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your tropical hibiscus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Utica

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Utica

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