One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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 earliest that you can plant hibiscus in Dover can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Hibiscus

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

Hibiscus require warm weather which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant hibiscus in Dover 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your hibiscus may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your hibiscus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Dover the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Dover and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Dover last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your hibiscus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dover

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 Dover

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