One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant hollyhocks in Santa Monica by checking out the USDA zone info.

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 earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in Santa Monica 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your hollyhocks indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Monica the average date of last frost happens on January 31. You can expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Santa Monica may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Santa Monica there is a last frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your hollyhocks in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Monica

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Monica

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Monica.