I also love Hollyhocks and have 5 different colors right now, have tried to grow the double ones but no luck so far, maybe next year. The bees love them too.
In My Garden Blog
Northern & Central Midwest
July 20, 2006
By
Kate Jerome,
Pleasant Prairie, WI
These hollyhocks add a beautiful dimension to my vegetable garden every summer.
Hollyhock, An Old-Fashioned Favorite
I grew up making hollyhock dolls from my grandmother's hollyhocks. There was something special about the tissue-paper petals in soft pastel hues. And something grand about the 8-foot-tall flower spikes that give such tremendous stature and architecture to the perennial garden.
My grandmother referred to these old-fashioned favorites as biennials, yet they came up every year. I never gave the mechanics of these lovely plants a thought until I planted them at the edge of my vegetable garden a few years ago.
From Seed to Bloom
Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) are true biennials, taking two years to complete a life cycle. A biennial plant spends the first year producing a sturdy elaborate root system with only a simple rosette of leaves aboveground. The leaves die back to the ground in winter, and the root system goes quietly to sleep. The following spring, the plant awakens to send up a flower stalk to produce blossoms and seeds. At the end of this second season, the plant usually dies, having completed the task of spreading its seeds.
In my vegetable garden, the hollyhocks bloom continually all summer, and begin scattering ripe seeds in midsummer. The seeds germinate and produce a family of seedlings all around the mother plants.
These seedlings get their first year's growth in late summer and fall, and then the following year send up blossom stalks.
Now that I have the cycle set up, I have plants blooming every year. I started with only maroon-flowered plants, but they freely cross-pollinate, giving me luscious tints and hues of pink, maroon, apricot, and white.
There is nothing quite like a hollyhock to add color to the back of a perennial border. Their large tropical leaves add substance, and the spires of crepe-paper blossoms in all hues of rose, red, pink, salmon and even darkest purple-black (my favorite) add unrivaled drama.
Hollyhocks thrive in full sun and average to poor soil, and basically take no care other than to enjoy the blooms. They do have a pesky bug that tends to turn the leaves to lace, but planting them in a situation with other plants to hide the lower part of the stalks works beautifully.
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Helen Westerby | July 20, 2006 | 5:07PM
Kate Jerome | July 20, 2006 | 7:49PM
Helen - keep trying the doubles - they are worth the effort. Many of them are annuals, so be ready to replant each year.
Rachelle | July 20, 2006 | 9:58PM
Hello! I LOVE Hollyhocks so much, I would love to have some for my garden! Would you be willing to share with me some of your seeds? Do you plant the seeds in the fall? Thank you!
Anna | July 21, 2006 | 7:49AM
I ordered some hollyhocks from a gardening catalog last fall which I planted right away. I knew they were biannuals and was not expecting to see any blooms until next summer. Surprisingly, one of them has begun to bloom. It is the dark-purple variety - it looks almost black. I am thrilled! My hope is that now I'll have hollyhocks in bloom every year because the other one that didn't bloom will be ready next year.
Gail Walker | July 21, 2006 | 8:45AM
Thank-you! I planted hollyhock seeds for the first time and have been confused about the short plants that I have while is see beautiful, tall spires in other gardens. I'll relax now and look forward to next year.
Vernice | July 23, 2006 | 8:33AM
A couple of years ago, for un known reason, I lost all my hollyhocks except 2. Since I have planted seeds in summer, fall, and in the springs. I just can't get them to come up. Do they need refrigerated, or any special care before planting? When is the best time?
Kate Jerome | July 24, 2006 | 4:34PM
Anna - isn't the black hollyhock the most beautiful flower in the garden? I always try to have some around.
Kate Jerome | July 24, 2006 | 4:40PM
Vernice - I can't imagine why your hollyhocks aren't coming up. They need full sun and not-so-great soil. The seeds should be planted in late spring after the soil has started to warm up a bit. Make sure that the seeds you are sowing haven't been hollowed out by the hollyhock weevil - they will have little holes in them. The weevil makes the seeds non-viable. Otherwise, don't give them too much water - it causes them to rot along with other problems. Good luck!
Kathie M. | July 24, 2006 | 5:13PM
I also grew up with hollyhocks and making dolls out of them. Years ago I planted my own and bugs totally ate the leaves. I haven't grown them since because I didn't want to attract bugs again. This was before I was as into gardening as I am now. Do Japanese beetles like hollyhocks? I think they might have been the culprits and I don't normally have a problem with them elsewhere. I see hollyhocks in other people's yards and they look wonderful--no lacy, bug-ridden leaves. Maybe I'll get brave and try them again and keep my bacterial-action spray handy. It works wonders to keep aphids in check.
Evie | July 25, 2006 | 2:18PM
Our daughter was just married in our yard and the hollyhocks were in all their glory! They made a wonderful backdrop for wedding photos! I've had so many comments on them and my gardenroom. I have noticed they aren't as tall as they were the first couple years I had them, I was wondering if this is due to a lack of rain (which we had at the beginning of the gardening season) or do they need to be fertilized?
Julie | July 25, 2006 | 8:12PM
This is my first year expereinsing with Hollyhocks .I have never seen before the flowers they are beautyfull and the variety of colors are gorgeous,they make a great addition to my garden . I have mine against a 8 foot fence and there well over that fence , however I find they lean over a great deal how can I keep them from breacking ?
Marcia Tuttle | August 2, 2006 | 11:12AM
Will hollyhocks grow in the deep South? I have tried and not had much success, however I have learned a lot from this forum. I live in zone 9 near the Florida state line,.
phyllis joy | August 3, 2006 | 9:21PM
my hollyhocks are beautiful, but when i cut them down today, i found tiny black bugs (?) inside the stalk bottom. what are they and what can i do???
Cherie | August 4, 2006 | 7:05AM
I just purchased some flowering hollyhocks that are probably only about 16-18" high. There is a dwarf variety available perhaps that is what you have.
Emily | August 4, 2006 | 9:59PM
I also love hollyhocks, rust disease, weevel's, little black bugs that look like very very tiny seal's,japanese beetles, earwigs, all attack the leaves and especially the flowers, or I should say the rust is only on the leaves. Now after I have seen a few wilted and I cut them open I found little black bugs hollowing out the pithy part of the stems killing the whole plant so I cut them down and found white grub looking worms eating roots. I wave a constant battle against these critters.I have found spraying with a mix of water , ivory dish soap, canola oil,and rubbing alcohol before buds form kill a lot of them. After they bloom only hand picking of yhe bugs should be done because the bumble and honey bees also love the bloosoms. Happy gardening
lucy dolin | August 6, 2006 | 2:41AM
Hollyhocks are my favourite flowers. They grew and reseeded beautifully in my previous house. When I bought my new house I couldn't wait to plant my hollyhocks. Unfortunately I wasn't that lucky here. The leaves turned yellow, then black and wilted. I didn't give up though, I keep planting seeds and potted hollyhocks from nurseries. Hopefully next year I'll be rewarded with beautiful blooms. Do you have any suggestions? Am I watering too much or too little? How can I treat or prevent rust? Also, when is the best time of the year to plant them? I welcome any advice. Thanks!
Just Me | January 23, 2007 | 6:57PM
I'm starting a small cutting garden in California, and it is about 100 square feet. I'd like to plant one or two hollyhocks, but I'd also like to save plenty of room for a variety of other plants. Is it a good idea to plant a hollyhock? Is it even possible to plant just one or two? thanks!
Kate Jerome | January 25, 2007 | 6:40AM
Hi, Just me -- I think it would be quite nice to put hollyhocks in your small garden. All you have to make sure to do is keep on top of the seedlings and make sure they don't get wild. If you don't hoe them out or pull them regularly, you'll get hollyhocks everywhere. But they're really not hard to control, and the resulting lovely plants would certainly be worth it. Good luck!