When to Plant Common hollyhock in Portland, ME

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant common hollyhock in Portland can be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Common hollyhock

Frost tolerance for common hollyhock: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since common hollyhock are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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 Portland 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your common hollyhock indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Portland the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Portland is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Portland it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your common hollyhock if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portland

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 Portland

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