One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Charleston you can figure out when to plant common hollyhock by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Common hollyhock

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

Common hollyhock are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can plant them earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant common hollyhock in Charleston is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant common hollyhock and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your common hollyhock may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your common hollyhock indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Charleston the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Charleston is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Charleston you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your common hollyhock if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charleston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Charleston

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