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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for New Castle it's a good idea to figure out when to plant common hollyhock.

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 little bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant common hollyhock in New Castle 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. Any later than that and your common hollyhock may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your common hollyhock indoors.

Last Frost Date

In New Castle 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 New Castle is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in New Castle you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your common hollyhock in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New Castle

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 New Castle

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Castle.