Return to the Perennials Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
Hollyhocks
| | |
Posted by
AdamKR 5a - Wisconsin (
My Page) on
Wed, Jul 24, 13 at 9:52
| I know this plant is usually a love it or hate it type of plant because I have seen a lot of garden lovers that love it or people that just cannot stand it. Well for the most part I am one of those guys that just absolutely loves this plant. I just planted about 150 seeds ealier in May this year and they are already about 6 inches high with dark green foliage and coming along nicely. I have a few questions if anyone can help me out... Last year my dads Hollyhocks died after getting rust really bad and they haven't come back since. :( Is there anyway you can prevent this from happening? Also I have noticed with the hollyhocks that I have planted this year so far look good, they do have holes in some of the leaves from some sort of bug eating at them. Is there a way to prevent this too? Thanks in advance! Adam |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Hollyhocks
| | |
| Is the leaf damage you're seeing making the leaves look lacy? If so, you have Japanese beetles. You can easily find pictures of the beetles on the web, they are large and have a green metallic look. Go out early in the morning and early in the evening and sweep any you find into a bucket of soapy water (use hand dishwasing liquid) and they'll drown. I do that every day. As far as rust goes, I normally remove the most badly damaged leaves to help stop the spread. There are some naturall remedies to try (which I always forget to put down, lol). I believe corn gluten is supposed to help. Be sure to clean up all leaf litter in the fall tohelp prevent overwintering of the spores. By this time of year, my hollyhocks are pretty much spent, so I'll be cutting them to the ground on the weekend. |
RE: Hollyhocks
| | |
- Posted by AdamKR 5a - Wisconsin (My Page) on
Wed, Jul 24, 13 at 11:07
| Thanks a bunch... I actually purchased a 10-10-10 fertilizer that helps kill most beetles and insects that will eat at the plant... hopefully that will help. It also helps the root system out. As far as the rust on hollyhocks and what I have read it seems that you NEVER EVER water the leaves and I have not been doing that what-so-ever. I also water early in the day so it has time to dry and soak into the ground before night. In a week or two ill have to post a picture! Thanks for the help. |
RE: Hollyhocks
| | |
| I think of hollyhocks as biennials or short lived perennials. There might be some varieties that tend to last longer but for the most part I think 2-5 years is normal. Some I started from seed took 3 years to bloom, so don't give up in it even if you don't get flowers next year. Sounds like you will have a beautiful show. To have them flowering every year, I'd expect to have to plant them every year or allow them to reseed. |
RE: Hollyhocks
| | |
- Posted by AdamKR 5a - Wisconsin (My Page) on
Wed, Jul 24, 13 at 13:03
| Troves, I would always cut the spent blooms off by my dad, this time around I am going to let nature do all the work and let them re-seed. Thanks for the input. |
RE: Hollyhocks
| | |
- Posted by AdamKR 5a - Wisconsin (My Page) on
Wed, Jul 24, 13 at 22:11
| Here is a picture of how my Hollyhocks are doing... Let me tell you I started these from SEED at the end of May so somewhat late yet they are already a good 5-6 inches tall. I think I may have found the perfect place as they are protected by a protruding wall there. :) |
RE: Hollyhocks
| | |
| I had two plants given to me last fall. They stayed alive, inspite of transplanting the taproot. The original plants did not return but right now I have several 4 foot tall plants, all from reseeding, and all blooming profusely. They're zebra hollyhocks and I just LOVE the blooms. The foliage is much fuller and denser than I remember but I love these! If yours flower this year I'd say FOR SURE let them reseed. They kept in the same spot for the most part and any wanderers were easy enough to just pull up |
RE: Hollyhocks
| | |
| Just to clarify, there are two different plants being talked about here, though they are both in the same family, Malvaceae so that the flowers have some resemblence, but the plants are quite different. Adam's plant is a biennial that might come back a third season, Alcea. They can grow to 6 or 8' tall and have flowers that are in the range of 3-4" wide. David's plants, Zebra hollyhocks are Malva sylvestris Zebrina, a much shorter (3-4') perennial and have smaller flowers (2"). Both plants will reseed. While I understand that learning scientific names can be a bit intimidating, it does help in saving some confusion in cases like this where a common name is used for more than one plant, an unfortunately common occurance. |
RE: Hollyhocks
| | |
- Posted by AdamKR 5a - Wisconsin (My Page) on
Thu, Jul 25, 13 at 10:16
| nhbabs, Thanks for the input, I know the type I have is a biennial, but I am hoping that if I let nature take it's course and leave it to re-seed I may get lucky and it will come back each year. We'll see! Is there anything I can do to have better results in having that happen?? |
RE: Hollyhocks
| | |
| A systemic rose spray that is listed for rust should prevent rust and also leaf miners on the hollyhocks, do it in spring before you see any symptoms because afterward is too late. Sandy |
RE: Hollyhocks
| | |
| Adam, mine reseed without any help from me as long as I leave them for a little while after they have bloomed to let the seeds ripen. I don't save the seeds, just let some of them drop for next year's flowers. They are an old-fashioned single that's a deep red-marroon and are in an area that isn't mulched. I do have problems with rust most years, and those years I just rip them out, though this year they are perfectly clean and have been really nice. The seeds must be long-lived since I have ripped out the small plants due to rust for the last 4 years, but a few came up each year anyway despite no flowers for several years. Thanks for the info Sandy. I wish that there were a nonchemical method of preventing rust since I'm not willing to do annual applications of a systematic. |
RE: Hollyhocks
| | |
| nhbabs, for organic controls try Neem oil. Safer makes a sulfer based fungacide that is a better option than other chemicals. And some people say that corm meal mixed with water and used as a spray prevents hollyhock rust. |
Post a Follow-Up
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in.
If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Perennials Forum
Information about Posting
- You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account.
- Please review our Rules of Play
before posting.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you
will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your
post, make changes and upload photos.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in
order to see it.
- Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use.
- We have a strict no-advertising
policy!
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit
our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we
will be happy to help.
Learn more about in-text links on this page here
