When to Plant Hollyhocks in Zone 3b

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.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant hollyhocks is to look at the USDA zone info for Zone 3b.


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 just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle 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 Zone 3b 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. If you wait any later than that and your hollyhocks may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your hollyhocks indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Zone 3b. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -35°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 3b and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Zone 3b you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your hollyhocks in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-35°F
Highest Expected Low-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3b.