Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant common hollyhock in Alton should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Common hollyhock

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

Common hollyhock do well in some cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant common hollyhock in Alton 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your common hollyhock indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Alton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Alton and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Alton last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your common hollyhock if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Alton

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