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.

You should be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant hollyhocks by referring to the USDA zone info for Lakeport.

Planting Calendar for Hollyhocks

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

Since hollyhocks do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in Lakeport 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 grow to maturity. Starting your hollyhocks indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Lakeport the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lakeport and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Lakeport last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your hollyhocks if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lakeport

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 Lakeport

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