How to Grow Hollyhocks From Seed

Hollyhocks are usually biennial, meaning they grow leaves the first year and bloom the second, so plan for the long game. The classic approach is to direct-sow outdoors in late summer or early fall, which lets the plants establish a leafy rosette before winter and flower the following summer. You can also sow in early spring once the soil can be worked, or start seeds indoors 8 to 10 weeks before the last frost. Once established, hollyhocks self-seed freely and keep the display going year after year.

Hollyhock seeds are large and flat with a tough coat, so soaking them in warm water for about 12 hours before sowing speeds and evens out germination. Sow just a quarter inch deep and barely cover them, since they germinate best with a little light, then keep the soil evenly moist. Sprouts appear in about 10 to 14 days. Because hollyhocks send down a deep taproot and resent transplanting, it is easiest to sow them right where they will grow, in full sun and rich, well-drained soil, spacing plants 18 to 24 inches apart.

Give hollyhocks full sun, room to breathe, and a sheltered spot such as along a wall or fence, since their tall spikes can catch the wind and may need staking. Water at the base to keep the leaves dry, feed occasionally, and mulch to hold moisture. Their main challenge is hollyhock rust, a fungus that speckles the lower leaves with orange spots; improve airflow, remove affected leaves promptly, and avoid overhead watering to keep it in check. Hollyhocks are hardy through cold winters (zones 3 to 9), and letting a few seed heads ripen and drop ensures a fresh generation of plants each year.

Hollyhocks are a cottage-garden backbone that pulls in bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, and they look best towering behind lower flowers. These four make especially good companions, and you can add any of them in one click:

Hollyhocks are grown for their towering flowers rather than a harvest, but saving seed is easy and worthwhile. Let some spent blooms stay on the stalk until they form round, papery seed capsules, then pick the capsules once they turn brown and dry and crumble out the flat, disc-shaped seeds. Store them somewhere cool and dark for next season. Leaving a few capsules to burst on their own is the simplest way to keep a self-sowing patch going.

Hollyhocks are the quintessential cottage-garden flower, their 5 to 8 foot spikes lined with big, open blooms that give height and old-fashioned charm along fences, walls, and the back of a border. They are a magnet for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, making them a valuable pollinator plant. Children have long picked the blossoms to make little hollyhock dolls, and the flowers come in a wonderful range of colors from soft pastels to a near-black burgundy.

• No flowers the first year: this is normal. Hollyhocks are biennial and usually bloom in their second summer, so be patient or sow two years in a row.
• Hollyhock rust: orange spots on the lower leaves. Improve airflow, remove and destroy affected leaves, and water at the base rather than overhead.
• Flopping spikes: the tall stalks catch wind. Plant against a fence or wall and stake them in exposed spots.
• Slow or uneven germination: soak the large seeds in warm water for about 12 hours before sowing to soften the tough coat.