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.

In Shelby you can estimate when it's the best time 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.

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

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in Shelby 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 fully mature. If you are starting your hollyhocks indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Shelby. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Shelby is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Shelby last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your hollyhocks if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shelby

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Shelby

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