One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Orange Beach it's possible to determine when it's the best time 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 bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in Orange Beach 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. If you wait any later than that and your hollyhocks may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your hollyhocks indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Orange Beach. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Orange Beach is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Orange Beach you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your hollyhocks if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Orange Beach

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 Orange Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Orange Beach.