When to Plant Common hollyhock in Machesney Park, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant common hollyhock in Machesney Park should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Common hollyhock

Frost tolerance for common hollyhock: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Common hollyhock are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant common hollyhock
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant common hollyhock
Probably not a good time to plant common hollyhock

The earliest that you can plant common hollyhock in Machesney Park is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant common hollyhock and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your common hollyhock may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your common hollyhock indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Machesney Park. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Machesney Park is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Machesney Park it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your common hollyhock in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Machesney Park

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 Machesney Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Machesney Park.