One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Buffalo should be reffered to in order to determine when you can 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 one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant hollyhocks in Buffalo is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant hollyhocks and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your hollyhocks may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your hollyhocks indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Buffalo the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Buffalo may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Buffalo you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your hollyhocks in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Buffalo

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Buffalo

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