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.

In New Bedford you can figure out when to plant hollyhocks by checking out 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.

Since hollyhocks are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in New Bedford 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in New Bedford. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for New Bedford may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in New Bedford last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your hollyhocks in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for New Bedford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in New Bedford

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