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

The earliest that you can plant hibiscus in San Diego should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Hibiscus

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

Hibiscus require warm weather which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant hibiscus in San Diego 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. If you wait any later than that and your hibiscus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your hibiscus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in San Diego. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for San Diego may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in San Diego you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your hibiscus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Diego

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 San Diego

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Diego.