The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate 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.

A way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant tropical hibiscus is to use the USDA zone info for Milwaukee.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Hibiscus

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

Since tropical hibiscus do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tropical hibiscus in Milwaukee 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 tropical hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your tropical hibiscus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your tropical hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Milwaukee is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Milwaukee there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your tropical hibiscus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Milwaukee

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Milwaukee

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