One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to determine when to plant hibiscus by reviewing the USDA zone info for Madison.

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

The earliest that you can plant hibiscus in Madison is May. However, you really should wait until June 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 really do well. Starting your hibiscus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Madison the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Madison and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Madison last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to protect your hibiscus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

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