Can I Grow Hollyhock in South Dakota?

Hollyhock in South Dakota — the short answer

South Dakota is not one climate

Where in South Dakota Fits Best

Even within South Dakota's zones 4a-5b, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for hollyhock (USDA PHZM 2023):

Zone Comparison

Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset. State data: USDA ARS PHZM 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NRCS SSURGO.

When to Plant Hollyhock in South Dakota

Frost window: NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020. Plant timing fields: Growable Ground Plant Database — frost-free days from FAO ECOCROP, days to harvest from university Extension production guides, and growing-degree-day and chill-hour minimums that are compilation estimates rather than published figures. Your site's own frost dates can run earlier or later than the state range — a parcel report pins them down.

Soil + Drainage Fit

Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your South Dakota site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, a raised bed lifts the roots above wet ground, or work in compost. Drainage need: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.

Plant pH requirements: FAO ECOCROP and USDA PLANTS, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Drainage: FAO ECOCROP, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. South Dakota soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.

What Else to Consider for Hollyhock in South Dakota

Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but South Dakota growers also need to think about:

What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every South Dakota grower, not just hollyhock — is covered on the South Dakota growing guide.

Where in South Dakota Hollyhock Is Zone-Hardy

Hollyhock is rated for USDA zones 5–9. 31 of South Dakota’s 66 counties fall inside that band. The coldest that does is Aurora County at zone 5a. 35 counties sit below the plant’s zone 5 floor, where an unprotected plant is relying on snow cover and a mild year. Where you are in South Dakota decides this one.

Across those 66 counties South Dakota’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 4a in Brown County to zone 5b in Custer County — 1.5 USDA zones of spread, which is 15°F between the two counties’ average coldest night of the year. That is why a statewide hardiness answer is where you start and not where you finish.

The planting window moves with it. Lawrence County holds its last hard freeze (28°F) until about May 12, while Bon Homme County is clear by Apr 18 — 24 days apart. Set hollyhock out on your county’s date, not the state’s.

County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. County last-freeze dates: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F killing freeze — earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost". Hollyhock’s zone 5–9 band: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.

Pollinator + Wildlife Value

Hollyhock draws honeybees, native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds (high value). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, hollyhock can only work that bloom inside South Dakota's frost window — roughly 168 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Apr 22 - Apr 29) and closing at the first (Oct 9 - Oct 15), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Pollinator value: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.

Good to Know Before You Plant Hollyhock

South Dakota Cooperative Extension

For South Dakota-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for hollyhock, the canonical source is SDSU Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.

Is Hollyhock native to South Dakota?

No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Hollyhock as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of South Dakota's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few South Dakota natives keeps local pollinators fed too.

Looking for plants that belong here? The South Dakota growing guide lists plants that USDA PLANTS records growing in South Dakota and that Kew and NatureServe Explorer both list in its native range, leaving out any that NatureServe flags as exotic there or that our audit holds.

State records: USDA PLANTS Database state-distribution data (presence, not state-level nativity), accessed 2026-10-19.

What pests threaten hollyhock in South Dakota?

Japanese beetle is documented in South Dakota and will find hollyhock, but it is manageable here. What an experienced grower watches for, and does:

Japanese beetle

Worth watchingdocumented in part of this state

This is on the University of Minnesota's list of Japanese beetle preferred plants — but their read is that fruits, vegetables and herbs tolerate limited leaf feeding, and that in most cases the damage is cosmetic and will not kill the plant.

What to do: Protect it only through the few peak weeks: handpick into soapy water in the cool of morning, harvest regularly through July and August to take the feeding pressure off the edible parts, and keep the plant well watered — a vigorous plant outgrows feeding that looks worse than it is. Do not hang a beetle trap.

Documented range: states listed as Japanese-beetle infested · University of Minnesota Extension, National Plant Board

The full japanese beetle playbook

Only pests whose documented range and host relationship both trace to a primary source appear here — so a quiet section means we have nothing sourced to tell you, not that your garden is pest-free.

Common Questions About Growing Hollyhock in South Dakota