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.

The USDA zone info for Ringwood should be looked at to estimate when to plant hollyhocks.

Planting Calendar for Hollyhocks

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

Since hollyhocks are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in Ringwood 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. If you wait any later than that and your hollyhocks may not have a chance to grow to maturity. 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 when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Ringwood. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ringwood and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ringwood last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your hollyhocks in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ringwood

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Ringwood

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