When to Plant Hollyhocks in Gardner, MA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Gardner can be reviewed to estimate when it's possible to plant hollyhocks.


Planting Calendar for Hollyhocks

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

You can plant hollyhocks a little bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in Gardner 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 hollyhocks and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your hollyhocks may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your hollyhocks indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Gardner. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Gardner is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Gardner you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your hollyhocks if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gardner

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 Gardner

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