Crops & Breeds › Flower Garden
🌺 Hibiscus
Flower Garden · growing reference
| Days to maturity | 120 days – ~1 year, by type |
|---|---|
| Germination | 21 days |
| Spacing | 36″ in the row × 48″ between rows |
| Planted as | cutting |
| Water | ~1–2 in a week |
When to plant — Hardy Hibiscus
In USDA zone 6, for example: Plant around Mar 4, while the stock is still dormant — bare-root wants to be in the ground before it leafs out.
| Spring | |
|---|---|
| Zone 3 | Apr 3 |
| Zone 4 | Mar 26 |
| Zone 5 | Mar 15 |
| Zone 6 | Mar 4 |
| Zone 7 | Feb 18 |
| Zone 8 | Feb 1 |
| Zone 9 | Jan 9 |
Dates are the typical window for each zone's average frost dates — your own last frost can differ by a couple of weeks. Zone 10 and warmer is effectively frost-free: plant to the season, not the frost. Southern Hemisphere: shift six months.
When to plant — Tropical Hibiscus
In USDA zone 6, for example: Plant around Apr 29, once frost danger has passed. It's container-grown, so any mild spell after that will do.
| Spring | |
|---|---|
| Zone 3 | May 29 |
| Zone 4 | May 21 |
| Zone 5 | May 10 |
| Zone 6 | Apr 29 |
| Zone 7 | Apr 15 |
| Zone 8 | Mar 29 |
| Zone 9 | Mar 6 |
Dates are the typical window for each zone's average frost dates — your own last frost can differ by a couple of weeks. Zone 10 and warmer is effectively frost-free: plant to the season, not the frost. Southern Hemisphere: shift six months.
Hibiscus Types
- Tropical · ~1 year · 50–150 blooms/plant — H. rosa-sinensis — glossy leaves, huge tender blooms; from a cutting, wintered in where it freezes.
- Hardy · 120 days · 20–60 blooms/plant — H. moscheutos — the perennial rose-mallow; saucer flowers, from seed, dies back and returns each year.