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.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant hollyhocks is to look at the USDA zone info for Torrance.

Planting Calendar for Hollyhocks

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

Since hollyhocks are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in Torrance 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. If you are starting your hollyhocks indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Torrance the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Torrance and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Torrance it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to cover your hollyhocks if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Torrance

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 Torrance

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