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.

You will be able to determine when to plant hollyhocks by reviewing the USDA zone info for Auburn.

Planting Calendar for Hollyhocks

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

Hollyhocks tend to make it in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in Auburn 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 grow to maturity. Starting your hollyhocks indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Auburn. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Auburn is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Auburn last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your hollyhocks in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Auburn

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Auburn

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