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

In New Bern you can determine when it's a good idea to plant hollyhocks by looking at 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.

Hollyhocks can survive in some cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in New Bern 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 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 March 15 in New Bern. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for New Bern and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in New Bern there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your hollyhocks if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New Bern

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in New Bern

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