One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In Bowie you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant hollyhocks 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.

Since hollyhocks do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in Bowie 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 fully mature. Starting your hollyhocks indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bowie the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Bowie is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Bowie you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your hollyhocks if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bowie

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Bowie

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