One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

The first chance to plant hollyhocks in Virginia should be estimated 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.

You can plant hollyhocks a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in Virginia is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant hollyhocks and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your hollyhocks may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your hollyhocks indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Virginia. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -35°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Virginia and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Virginia you get a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your hollyhocks if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Virginia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-35°F
Highest Expected Low	-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Virginia

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