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 first chance to plant hollyhocks in Mount Vernon should be determined 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.

Since hollyhocks do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in Mount Vernon 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 really do well. 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 Mount Vernon. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Mount Vernon is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Mount Vernon last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your hollyhocks in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mount Vernon

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 Mount Vernon

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mount Vernon.