The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. 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 determining when it's the best time to plant common hollyhock is to look at the USDA zone info for Muscatine.

Planting Calendar for Common hollyhock

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

You can plant common hollyhock a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant common hollyhock in Muscatine 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 common hollyhock and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your common hollyhock may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your common hollyhock indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Muscatine the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Muscatine may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Muscatine there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your common hollyhock in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Muscatine

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Muscatine

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