One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

A way of figuring out when it's possible to plant hollyhocks is to refer to the USDA zone info for Escondido.

Planting Calendar for Hollyhocks

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

Hollyhocks do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in Escondido 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. Any later than that and your hollyhocks may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your hollyhocks indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Escondido. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Escondido is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Escondido it frosts late in the year after February 15 so always be ready to protect your hollyhocks if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Escondido

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Escondido

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