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| Hi all,
I'm new here and need your help. My grandmother used to have flowers that grew on the east side of her house which was pretty sunny all day long. The flower was so dark it looked almost black and it would bloom in several area's down the very tall stem. Please help me! Does anyone know the name of this flower from the description? Thanks in advance!!! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Sun, Apr 8, 12 at 13:35
| Possibly a form of hollyhock - Alcea rosea. These can produces some of the darkest maroon-purple flowers they almost appear black and do grow on tall stems with flowers dispersed up and down the stems. A good old fashioned cottage garden perennial - one many grandmas used to grow :-) |
Here is a link that might be useful: black hollyhocks
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| WOO HOO! GG, you are my HERO!!! That is EXACTLY what they are! Thank you SO much! ;D |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Mon, Apr 9, 12 at 8:59
| why were all grandmas attracted to hollyhock .. which we called.. the alley weed in the polish ghetto in detroit??? .. becasue they lined the alleys behind the houses ... i also knew.. as soon as i saw the post.. what it was ... why??? it triggers simply on the word grandma??? perhaps because they reseeded and thrived with benign neglect??? they were alternatively known as the garbage flower.. since they hid her garbage cans ... lol .. ken |
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| For one thing, hollyhock plantings were a genteel way of signaling to a lady guest where the outhouse was located without having to ask. :-) |
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- Posted by hostaholic2 zone 4 MN (My Page) on Mon, Apr 9, 12 at 15:29
| Yes, also known as the outhouse flower. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Mon, Apr 9, 12 at 16:45
| OMG.. NO WAY!!!!! .. lol see what useless info you can learn.. just for the asking.. lol .. i just wonder what they were doing in those alleys ... lol .. [i am trying to think ... when indoor plumbing became prolific .. and how old grandma's house was ... perhaps there were outhouses back in the day ... maybe thats how the alley came into being.. they capped them all???] ken |
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- Posted by schoolhouse z5/ohio (My Page) on Mon, Apr 9, 12 at 19:31
| I live in an old schoolhouse. Original outhouse on the right.
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- Posted by buyorsell888 Zone 8 Portland OR (My Page) on Mon, Apr 9, 12 at 21:29
| I had no idea about the outhouses but my grandmother showed me how to make little dolls out of hollyhocks. :) |
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| The things I learn on here. lol! Karen |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Tue, Apr 10, 12 at 12:02
| Love the story about them being the indicator of where the outhouse was. I guess you wouldn't want to go running to the potato shed! |
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| Black hollyhocks look beautiful with old fashioned Sweet Williams - the Dianthus barbatus, and Alchemilla mollis also known as Ladies mantle. I wish I had a pic to show you - its a pretty vignette. Also, the hollyhocks and dianthus are super easy to grow from seed. I have heard Alchemilla can be a heavy reseeder but I haven't had that problem myself. |
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| Karen you are so right. Now I have to get some hollyhocks. I never tried to grow them. I brought a house with enough land to try everything so time to give the a try. I want my grandkids to one day say My granny had those plants minus the outhouse though. lol |
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| NOW ya'll have got me thinkin! Wonder where the outhouse used to be here? I know there was no plumbing in the original one-room house that was (still here when we bought the property but torn down now) built in the 40's, no indoor facilities, so there had to be one....hmm. No hollyhock patch on that end of the property, only out by the street and I KNOW there was no outhouse there, lol! Now I'm curious, maybe our old neighbor down the street will remember. She is in her 80's and was born in the house she lives in, so she would know. Sandy |
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- Posted by schoolhouse z5/ohio (My Page) on Wed, Apr 11, 12 at 12:55
| My outhouse hollyhocks aren't original to the property, I brought them in and planted them there. The photo I posted is from 2010 - "The Year of The Hollyhock". I've always had hollyhocks but that year was the best ever, last year was terrible. They all suffered a terrible fungus and some other icky disease so I pulled most. I sprayed the new seedlings coming up with fungal spray so we'll see if that makes a difference. I know most hollyhocks are biennial, so it may take another season to achieve such blooms again. I plan on bringing in some new stock also. |
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- Posted by perennialfan273 zone 5 (My Page) on Wed, Apr 11, 12 at 16:46
| I love hollyhocks. Now, if only these was a way to keep the rust off them (and the bugs)... |
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- Posted by schoolhouse z5/ohio (My Page) on Wed, Apr 11, 12 at 17:29
| I really don't think there is a way to avoid that rust. Like I mentioned in my previous post I'm trying fungal spray early on and will do so at the first sign of spores. |
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- Posted by aklinda 7 (lindanewland@myway.com) on Wed, Apr 11, 12 at 22:48
| I winter sowed probably 50 containers of hollyhocks that are ready to plant out - about half black and half Antwerp. They'll go along my chain link fence. I planted a few two years ago and they have held up well against the fierce New Mexico winds, even with no support. I'm looking forward to seeing them all in bloom - but will have to wait until next year. |
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