One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A way of estimating when it's the best time to plant hollyhocks is to use the USDA zone info for Charlotte.

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 bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in Charlotte 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. Any later than that and your hollyhocks may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your hollyhocks indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Charlotte. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Charlotte is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Charlotte you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your hollyhocks in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charlotte

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 Charlotte

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