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

In Zone 7a you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant tropical hibiscus by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Hibiscus

Frost tolerance for tropical hibiscus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since tropical hibiscus do not do well in cold weather it's important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tropical hibiscus in Zone 7a 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tropical hibiscus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your tropical hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Zone 7a. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 7a and it is different every year. Half of the time in Zone 7a it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your tropical hibiscus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 7a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 7a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 7a.