One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant tropical hibiscus in Delaware can be estimated by using 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.

It's a bad idea to plant tropical hibiscus until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant tropical hibiscus in Delaware 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. If you wait any later than that and 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

In Delaware the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Delaware is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Delaware it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your tropical hibiscus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Delaware

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 Delaware

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