A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Hollyhocks

Hi ya'll. My Hollyhocks are dying down after their (hopefully) first bloom. Some of the stalks are brown and a few just have a leaf or two. Should I prune them back or just let them die on their own. I'm hoping for a second showing. Thanks, Gata

Cut them back and often you will get another set of blooms, but usually shorter stems.

Mine died too...I dont think I like them all that much. They die too fast and cost too much.

Hollyhocks,

Are you sure they are suited for your climate/

it makes a difference......NC isnt for sure.
You have the advantage of summer all year.. We are blessed with winter , fall spring and summer..

Yuk..........
dodge

I don't think they cost much, then again I started mine from seeds....that's the best adn cheapest way to go!!! I love their flowers.

I started my Hollyhocks from seed also and let them die with impunity. Of course, in Texas the heat kind of kills them off in the heat of the day without water until someone gets home from work. My plants get this disease, rust maybe, or some kind of fungus that looks like a brown, round dot with speckles on the other side of the leaf. Then, they die. Hasta le bye bye baby.

Hey twwright I'm going through the same thing. I have almost no foliage left. And what I have has the same markings you are talking about. We water and water and the heat is still doing them in I think. I'm trying not to cut them back because I'd like some of the seed pods but I'm not sure they will live long enough to produce seeds. Any ideas on that one?

I'm trying to start Hollyhocks from seed. I seem to be having a problem getting them to germinate. I direct sowed some of them, and none of them came up. The others i put in a pots, and I was only able to get two to germinate after being in pots since May. Hollyhocks should take about 14 days, and not two months to germinate. Now, I soaked the seeds for about an hour before planting, and I kept them near the surface of the soil, because Hollyhock seeds need light to germinate. I put the pots outside for weeks on end, I tried putting them under grow lights in the basement. I've tried just about everything. I'm starting a new batch now, and these ones I put in the freezer a few days, then I soaked them in warm water for 2 hours. I put each one in each pot, half in the soil, and half sticking out of the soil. Anyone have any recommendations? I got these seeds from someone in the UK, and they are suppose to get 15 ft. tall. (I only grow giant plants) These are bred to get large; so it's important I get these seeds to work. The person who gave them to me said he is able to get them to germinate. I'm usually really good at getting things to germinate from seed, and this is the first time I've ever had such a problem.

I had tried with some seeds before too and didn't have any luck, but last time I checked I think I see some starting (unless of course those are some weeds popping out). I had wondered if they shouldn't have gone in the fridge first myself since if we were to let nature take it's course around here they would go through the winter season before coming out again in spring. I have some in the fridge now but haven't planted them yet.

i started mine in the greenhouse, coverd with a fine layer of compost and most germinated!
there in the ground now
just got to wait till next year to see what colours ive got

When I soak, I soak overnight unless there are strict instructions not to. Other than that the ones I planted in 50 percent compost came up and the ones I planted in clay did not. (that's my garden clay, clay and more clay lol.)

hey i just came back from mexico and saw quite a few people growing Hollyhocks! it was amazing to see everything so brown and dusty and blech and them see a big sprout of Hollyhocks by someones house!

It's funny, because when I planted a few at first, I didn't leave them near the surface. Rule of thumb with most seeds is the bigger the seed, the deeper you plant it. It wasn't until they didn't germinate that I started to read up on them. The second time I practically had them on the surface, but that didn't help. Obviously, it was a problem with soaking them, because they came out nearly two months later, with little change in temps.

Hi everyone...
i have ..5 Hollyhock plants... onez rather small n 2 others smaller...but da other 2 r rather bushy...funny....from da pictures i see of them, they r tall plants... but mine has been a bushy clump at ground level for quite sometime...they do grow...but sidewyas not up!!? da heat, huh??... but recently i noticed da stem of one of 'em growing up...theres still some hope for me, i suppose?? i so wanna see 'em bloom..started 'em from Thompson & Morgan seeds..

Hi Nor,

Hollyhocks have a two year cycle. The first year foliage only and the blossoms the second year. They love water and full sun so if you have a fair amount of room between them you should have a really nice showing when they do bloom.

So if this is the first year for yours you may want to put down extra seeds so that you have blooms every year.

Am I making any sense at all? Sometimes I don't explain myself at all well.

Oooh no wonder there r so much leaves ...but no flowers yet..n i kept peeking thro da leaves checking for signs of flowers... yep they r in full sun...n get a lot of water...we water our garden usually twice a day...unless when it rains...think they do like it there s da single clumps plantd have produced more...they grow sideways... but one is showing signs of growing up...think da other will follow suit...
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"So if this is the first year for yours you may want to put down extra seeds so that you have blooms every year."
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Tammy...does that mean i should sow some more seeds? Ughh..finished all my seeds i think...n out of da packet only these 5 survived...m happy that they do..n by what u said...i'll b patient n give 'em time to flower...

No you have the ones down for this year. But next year when these are blooming you'll wan't to make sure you put down some more seeds so they will do the foliage thing then and the next year bloom and so on. Just remember to plant some seeds every year and you'll be fine.

Does anyone know if these are Hollyhocks?
mystery
I posted a pic earlier and was told possibly cukes, melon, squash or Hollyhocks.
I didn't plant any of these in this spot, so I'm not sure.
Tammy

Hi plantingnewb Tammy...
your mystery looks sooo very much like my 5 Hollyhocks.... but m no expert... gotta wait for 2nd..3rd opinions..

Yours look like wild celery to me and I hope you don't have that. My dad made the mistake of planting it and now it is everywhere. And it gets huge.

I just noticed today that one of the buds is slightly open & is pink inside.
Does that help ID it?
I can't wait to see what it turns out to be.
Hopefully flowers of some sort.
Not celery please
Tammy

looks like em to me
im a first year hocker too and that looks just like what i have

Finally the buds are beginning to open.
This is what they look like.
Hollyhocks?
Tammy

yup

I have tried and tried to grow hocks, with no luck at all, and I have never found a plant for sale. I wish I had some of these I just adore them. I have always wanted to put a cute lil out house in the back yard and grow Hollyhocks around it. 1 of these days I will get em to grow!