One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

You can figure out when it's possible to plant hollyhocks in Fort Dodge 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 bit 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 Fort Dodge is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant hollyhocks and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your hollyhocks may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your hollyhocks indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Fort Dodge. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind 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 Fort Dodge and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Dodge you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your hollyhocks in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Dodge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Dodge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Dodge.