One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant hollyhocks is to examine the USDA zone info for Gulf Shores.

Planting Calendar for Hollyhocks

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

Hollyhocks are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in Gulf Shores 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 hollyhocks and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your hollyhocks may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your hollyhocks indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Gulf Shores. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Gulf Shores and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Gulf Shores last frost occurs after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your hollyhocks if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gulf Shores

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Gulf Shores

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Gulf Shores.