One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Madison it's a good idea to estimate when to plant tropical hibiscus.

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 the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant tropical 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 tropical hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tropical hibiscus may not have a chance to really do well. 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 May 15 in Madison. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Madison is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Madison you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your tropical hibiscus if you have 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.