Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant hibiscus is to check out the USDA zone info for Cleveland.

Planting Calendar for Hibiscus

Frost tolerance for hibiscus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Hibiscus require warm weather which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant hibiscus in Cleveland is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your hibiscus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Cleveland the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Cleveland is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Cleveland you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your hibiscus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cleveland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

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

Plants to Grow in Cleveland

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