One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant hollyhocks in Macomb can be estimated by reviewing 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.

Hollyhocks do ok in moderate 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 hollyhocks in Macomb 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 Macomb. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Macomb and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Macomb there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your hollyhocks in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Macomb

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 Macomb

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