Northerner_on - I am not familiar with hollyhocks at all as this is my first year growing them. They somewhat baffle me as well because some people say they are annuals, some biennials and some perennials. Even different websites on the same cultivar offer varying information. When they say it is an annual in zone 5-9 what is it in zone 0-4 or 10+? A biennial or short lived perennial?

I am not sure why you would go through all the work of potting them up then sinking the pot in the ground. Why not just mulch them where they are and avoid all the complications that can come from over wintering in pots.

My hollyhocks are also hanging on very well. We have had some frosts that killed nearly everything and while they look toast first thing in the morning they bounce right back once things warm up. Mine were gifted seeds so I can't comment on cultivar but I can say they are about 6' wide by 3-4' tall this year so most likely not a dwarf LOL.

What ever you decide to do make sure you report back next year so we know how it went.

SCG

I think some of the confusion comes from the fact they are so good at producing seeds and germinating, but some are also considered perennials or biennials in areas down to zone 2. They are fairly heavy seeds, so they don't blow far, which makes you think they are coming up from the same plant again. I grew them in NM, which is zone 6a and we have very little moisture, winter or summer, but had some VERY cold freezing temperatures. They came back every year, and I really didn't do much to them at all. Hollyhocks are VERY hardy! DO NOT dig them up. They have a very long taproot, similar to a sunflower, and do not transplant well at all. If you are very concerned, mulch them through the winter, but make sure to remove the mulch in the spring; you should be rewarded with even more plants next year. Hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: about hollyhocks

Thanks for your advice SCG and Grandma. I am quite certain that these do not survive our winters without special treatment because when I grew them two years ago, they reached the stage of being filled with buds, just waiting to open. I left them over winter and they did not survive. However this year, seeing them survive several nights below zero, I felt that maybe they will survive but with some help. SCG, I have always felt that pots sunk in the ground offered more protection from the 'freeze/thaw' periods we go through up here. Perhaps it's only necessary for seedlings still in pots. Grandma, these are not the 'regular' hollyhocks, which I grow and which do re-seed. These Spring Celebrities are described as dwarf, and first year flowering annuals. Maybe a new hybrid. Unfortunately I got this information a little too late. SCG, your response was not sent to my e-mail as requested and so without any response, and very cold temperatures, I potted them up, sunk them in the ground, and mulched them with chipped leaves. They are surrounded by a chicken wire "tower", so they are completely covered. I did this just yesterday, but I'll keep you posted on the results.