When to Plant Hardy Hibiscus in Zone 10a

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Zone 10a should be used to determine when to plant hardy hibiscus.


Planting Calendar for Hardy Hibiscus

Frost tolerance for hardy hibiscus: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Hardy Hibiscus do well in cold which tells us that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant hardy hibiscus
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant hardy hibiscus
Probably not a good time to plant hardy hibiscus

The earliest that you can plant hardy hibiscus in Zone 10a is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant hardy hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your hardy hibiscus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your hardy hibiscus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Zone 10a. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 10a is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Zone 10a it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to protect your hardy hibiscus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 10a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 10a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 10a.