The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when you can plant tropical hibiscus is to check out the USDA zone info for Newport.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Hibiscus

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

It's not a good idea to plant tropical hibiscus until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant tropical hibiscus in Newport 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. Any later than that and your tropical hibiscus may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your tropical hibiscus indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Newport. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Newport is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Newport you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your tropical hibiscus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Newport

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 Newport

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