The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Swarthmore you can estimate when it's the best time to plant hibiscus by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Hibiscus

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

It's probably 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 Swarthmore 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your hibiscus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Swarthmore. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Swarthmore is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Swarthmore last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your hibiscus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Swarthmore

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Swarthmore

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