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Growing Hollyhocks in a Country Garden
is Easy and Rewarding
With colorful spikes of flowers reaching 6 feet and taller, growing hollyhocks will suit any garden style. For as long as there
are fences to hide, borders to fill and any bare sunny areas, there will always be a need for hollyhocks.
Growing hollyhocks has been enjoyed by generations of gardeners and they have been a traditional
stamp signifying a country or cottage garden style.
A Self Seeding Biennial
Most gardeners consider the hollyhock a biennial (a plant that flowers in its second year and then dies), but they readily
self seed to supply your garden with plenty of blooms each year.
A hollyhock's flowers open first from the bottom of the stalk, unfolding in a continuous sequence all the way to the top.
Each flower endures so well that it is possible for the entire stalk to remain in bloom by the time the buds at the top open.
Easy to Grow
Hollyhocks are a great flower for the novice gardener as they grow in almost any soil, provided it's well-drained. If given optimal
conditions ~ rich, moist soil in a sunny area sheltered from strong winds ~ hollyhocks will grow into the heartiest of plants.
Even mediocre conditions will produce a striking display, however.
Drought Tolerant
One of the best features of the hollyhock to me is that they are drought tolerant once they become established. They have a
huge tap root (a somewhat straight tapering root that grows vertically downward) which reaches deep into the soil to get to the sub-moisture.
Some of the tap roots on my hollyhocks can be an inch in diameter or more.
Keep Them Blooming
To make sure their blooming doesn't end with summer, cut faded stalks to within a foot or two of the ground and enjoy more
flowers come fall. Note: If your growing season is short, you may not have as much success with this, but give it a try! Some years
our growing season surprises me and gives extra precious days for that second bloom.
Potential Problems When Growing Hollyhocks
There is a fungal disease called hollyhock rust which produces yellowish-orange spots on the leaves that darken with age.
Remove these infected leaves as they appear. Spores of the disease can over-winter in any plant debris, so cut back and destroy spent
plants in the fall.
Applying compost or aged manure in spring produces healthy plants with better disease resistance and prevents over-wintered
spores from infecting new growth.
For rust problems that persist, apply sulfur to new growth in spring.
A pest problem can be caused by aphids and Japanese beetles. You can hand-pick the beetles from plants and cultivate the soil in
fall to expose grubs, which will then die. To remove aphids, try knocking them off with a strong spray of water. There are also yellow
sticky traps or you can buy commercial lacewings. Lacewing larvae have a voracious appetite and they feed on aphids and many other small
garden pests.
Country Designs for Garden Flower Beds
Should Include Hollyhocks
When coming up with designs for garden flower beds in your country landscape, be sure to include growing hollyhocks of all varieties.
You can place shorter varieties in flowerbeds and introduce the taller specimens to back a perennial border. They can also soften or
hide a wall or brighten an uninviting fence.
To make the taller hollyhocks look their best, plant shorter perennials at their feet to hide any spent or unattractive foliage.
Try salvia, daisies or geraniums, just to name a few.
To make sure and have plenty of blooms, grow hollyhocks in a sunny location.
Planting Hollyhock Seeds
Turn growing hollyhocks into a gift by saving seeds from your own plants. Then share your seed packets with friends and family. Once the flowers are spent, seed heads will form.
You can then collect the dried seed heads and place in a paper bag or a jar. After the heads have completely dried out, shake the container
and the seeds will be released. Store the seeds in a small envelope somewhere dry and dark.
Start your own seedlings indoors in late winter or early spring, depending on your climate. Fill your flat with potting soil or
seedling mix. Plant one seed in each cell at about 1/8 inch deep. Set your flat in a sunny window or under grow lights (my preferred method),
and keep them moist. Don't let them dry out. When the seedlings are about 3 inches tall, you can transplant them into 4 inch pots until
they are ready to plant outdoors.
Note for colder climate gardeners: To ensure blooming plants the following summer, I scatter hollyhock
seeds in my flower gardens in the fall. If I do this early enough that the seeds sprout and develop into seedlings, the plant over-winters
and comes up again in the spring to produce flowers during the summer months.
There Are Many Hollyhock Varieties to Try
Today's gardeners are rediscovering the hollyhock's classic charm, but they are also finding scores of new hollyhock varieties to try.
These newer cultivars have many attributes that bring growing hollyhocks to a new level of beauty and satisfaction.
The modern hybrids feature carnation-like double blooms that flower faster and are more disease-resistant. Add to that the loveliness
of the old varieties along with the flexibility of dwarf and annual breeds that bloom their first year and it's understandable that
growing hollyhocks is again becoming exciting for young and old gardeners alike.
Here is a sampling of old and new hollyhock varieties
to try in your country garden:
Large, dark blue-black round flowers have 5-7 lobes each that top off
the 4-6 foot stems of these drama queens.
Gorgeously ruffled carmine blooms appear all through the summer on the Red Prairie Mallow. Sturdy 30-inch
stems--no staking needed. Makes a bright accent for borders and arrangements. Butterflies visit often. Best in full to partial sun.
Cut back after blooming to encourage rebloom.
Exciting trumpet-shaped flower creates quite a splash from late spring until fall.
Zebra Mallow blooms are shaded pale mauve-pink to white and accented with violet stripes. Resembling hibiscus and hollyhock,
these 3 to 4 foot tall perennials are active self-sowers that make great additions to naturalized gardens.
Prairie Mallow combines rich color and lasting quality - an ideal summer cutting flower. 30 in tall,
doesn't need staking. Plant in full sun to partial shade. Dozens of deep pink blooms per stem! Combines rich color with lasting quality.
~ Charming, old-fashioned favorite grows to 7 ft. tall. The Chater Hollyhock Mix offers bright shades,
all double blooms. Grows a flowering screen and looks lovely against a fence or wall.
All of these varieties can be found at Gurney's along
with photos so you can see the beauty of each one for yourself!
Click on this coupon and save a ton of money on your order!
Pink Hollyhocks Are a Favorite In Country Cottage Gardens
Pink hollyhocks are an old-fashioned garden gem and are favorites of many country gardeners. Try making hollyhock 'dolls'
out of your favorite pink blooms and turn growing hollyhocks into child's play!
HOLLYHOCKS Flowers With Old Fashioned Country Charm
Whether you grow an old-fashioned variety or a modern-day soon-to-be classic, hollyhocks are an enduring performer that will never go
out of style in country gardens.
Try Growing Hollyhocks
Flowers With
old Fashioned Country Charm!
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Hollyhocks used to be planted around outhouses, so that ladies wouldn't need to ask where to go. They knew to just look for the Hollyhocks!
