When to Plant Common hollyhock in Gardner, MA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Gardner you should be able to figure out when you can 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.

Common hollyhock can survive in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant common hollyhock
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant common hollyhock
Probably not a good time to plant common hollyhock

The earliest that you can plant common hollyhock in Gardner 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your common hollyhock may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your common hollyhock indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Gardner. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Gardner is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Gardner you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your common hollyhock if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gardner

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 Gardner

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