When to Plant Hollyhocks in Mechanicsburg, PA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant hollyhocks in Mechanicsburg should be determined by using 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 are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant hollyhocks
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant hollyhocks
Probably not a good time to plant hollyhocks

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in Mechanicsburg 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Mechanicsburg. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Mechanicsburg is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Mechanicsburg you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your hollyhocks if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mechanicsburg

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Mechanicsburg

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