One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

A way of estimating when you can plant hollyhocks is to use the USDA zone info for Yorkville.

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 a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in Yorkville 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your hollyhocks indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Yorkville is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Yorkville you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your hollyhocks if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Yorkville

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 Yorkville

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