One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant hibiscus in Independence should be estimated by referring to 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.

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

The earliest that you can plant hibiscus in Independence 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. If you are starting your hibiscus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Independence is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Independence there is a last frost after March 15 so always be ready to protect your hibiscus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Independence

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Independence

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