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ellenrr_gw

? if you've sown hollyhock

ellenrr
12 years ago

My seedlings are growing so fast.

But what I've read I understand that they will not bloom the 1st year.

Is this your experience?

This will affect where I put them.

(assuming I can deter the rabbits!)

I don't know if it makes a different what variety I have, I don't know the variety.

I just know they are perennial.

Also- has anyone grown them in a pot?

I know they are really big, perhaps too big for a pot, but if I grow them in a pot at least they won't get eaten.

thanks for any feed-back.

ellen

Comments (9)

  • gardenweed_z6a
    12 years ago

    I grew them via WS last year which was my first try at both WS and growing hollyhocks. They grew quite tall and bloomed several times before going dormant for the winter. I don't know the varieties because they were from traded seeds but one was a dwarf pink double and the other a shorter dark burgundy single. Neither one came back this year as near as I can tell except one that I had in a gallon pot sunk in the ground over the winter. That's the only one showing any sign of growth this year. Growing them as annuals from seed every year doesn't bother me as long as they bloom first year but I did think they were perennial.

  • norabelle
    12 years ago

    Hollyhocks are actually biennials--foliage one year, flowers second year, seed, and die. Repeat. If you get them to reseed, like columbine, they appear perennial when you actually are getting concurrent yearly reseeding and flowering.

    I have grown the double hollyhocks for about four years, and I have mixed experiences. The first year I WS the peach blossom hollyhock, I got a VERY short and small stalk of blooms. The next year they were gorgeous. They did not reseed for me. Last year, I WS'd apple blossom and chatter's double, and they did not flower. I see them putting out leaves now, so I am looking forward to a show.

    From now on, if I want these double hollyhocks, I am going to grow some each year to keep continuous blooms. My friend has the "old fashioned" hollyhocks with single blossoms and beautiful pinky-purple petals. These reseed easily and freely for her.

    A container would need to be big because the roots are pretty big. It's certainly worth a try if you have a big enough container!

    cheers,
    Norabelle

  • ellenrr
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    thanks.
    I didn't know there were so many varieties.
    They are beautiful.
    well I'll see what happens.
    Yes I kinda got the idea from my research that growing in a pot might not be a good idea, unless there is such a thing as a miniature one.

  • morz8 - Washington Coast
    12 years ago

    Hollyhock can be biennial or short-lived perennial plants depending on your climate...

    They tend to be more perennial here, but they ALWAYS get rust here too so that kind of negates any benefit from having them live longer - they get pulled out anyway :)

  • ljpother
    12 years ago

    Some of my hollyhocks seem to be perennial; but I suspect they self seed. I find when I transplant them most are set back a year and don't flower until the following year. Then, there was the year I left some small plants in my garden thinking they were next year plants -- 7ft tall and shaded everything.

  • plays_in_dirt_dirt
    12 years ago

    ellenrr, there is a dwarf variety of hollyhock called 'Majorette' that would be suitable for a pot. They grow about 2 feet tall. I WSed them two years ago. They made a pretty show and returned the next year but not since then. The seed packet labeled them as perennial, but here in zone 7 Virginia, they must be short-lived perennials because they didn't return the third year. Pretty, though, and don't need staking. Oh, and it's a single.

  • ladyrose65
    12 years ago

    I DS'd these two last summer, moved them, forgetting how large they get.

    {{gwi:385466}}

  • PVick
    12 years ago

    There's another variety, 'Queeny Purple', that grows about 3' tall and blooms first year.

    As for growing in a pot - you can grow anything in a pot, if the pot is big enough. I always end up putting things in too small pots, and they still grow well; have been known to grow plants in plastic bags, too. A 5-gal conatiner, or a 16" pot should hold 1-2 hollyhock plants comfortably, IMHO.

    PV

  • ellenrr
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    thanks for the info about smaller hollyhocks, I have made a note for next year.