Yes, it is an old-fashioned flower much used in cottage gardens of days gone by. When it sends up its flowers and towering stems to 3m or so, it dominates the garden and sets a summery tone. Like many flowers that fall out of fashion, it looks as though it has been rediscovered by a new generation as it is popping up in gardens more frequently than in recent years.
The tall stems of the hollyhock carry a row of large mallow-like flowers, and it is part of the mallow family. This family is noted for many fine garden plants, usually of bright colour, such are hibiscus and abutilon. And hollyhock is varied when it comes to colour – purple, almost black, red, yellow, orange, pink, white and myriad shades between, everything except true blue. The flowers can be single with a broad flat cup-flower, or double-flowered with a mass of frilly petals packed into a big ball.
Hollyhocks are easily grown from seeds and plants sometimes come from self-sown seedlings. Seeds can be sown in summer, either in pots or in the open soil to make plants to overwinter and flower next summer.
When preparing the ground, hollyhocks like it to be rich and well-drained
Sowing directly into the open soil is the best way, but you must keep an eye on the young seedlings, because of the risk of snail damage, until they are a few months old. Sown into the open soil, the young plants are more likely to be able to root deeply, spread their roots and make a big plant. The bigger the plant going into winter, the bigger the flower spike that will form the following summer.
When preparing the ground, hollyhocks like it to be rich and well-drained. Dig in plenty of well-rotted manure and make a low mound to plant or to sow on. Sow the large seeds in groups, and thin out to three or four strong seedlings, moving the surplus seedlings elsewhere if they are needed.
The tall stems are robust but can be prone to blowing over in an exposed garden and they need staking with a tall light stake to which a bamboo cane can be tied, if necessary, as the stem grows tall. The double flowered kinds are more likely to need staking because the flowers are heavy when wet. The single-flowered kinds may not need a stake at all in a well-sheltered garden.
Immediately after flowering the stems should be cut to the ground to destroy the fungus spores that will otherwise overwinter
Hollyhock rust is a fungus disease that attacks the leaves, covering the back of the leaf with orange spots and reducing the vigour of the plant so that it does not perform as well as it should.
Start from seed sown each year to flower the following year and keep a distance from older plants. Young plants are not too badly affected. Immediately after flowering the stems should be cut to the ground to destroy the fungus spores that will otherwise overwinter.
Another trick is to remove the first leaves each spring and destroy them – the cycle of infection starts with the first leaves. Hollyhocks are more prone to rust if the soil is too dry in spring and summer. Feeding with a high-potash tomato food a few times in late spring and early summer of the year of flowering can also help. Worth the effort? Definitely!
Bindweed.
Bindweed, also known as convolvulus, is a serious garden weed. If left uncontrolled, it grows to become a solid mat of greenery that can easily smother shrubs and hedges, blocking out the light and killing the greenery of the affected shrubs or hedge underneath. Bindweed can be controlled by treating it with glyphosate-based weedkiller.
The late summer is a good time for this because the plant takes the chemical deeply into its root system. Tease out some of the stems and roll them into a loose ball. Then, wearing gloves, dip this in a bucket of spray-strength solution and then leave the wetted stems on the ground, not touching other plants. Next April and May, direct-spray any bindweed stems that reappear.
Fruit, vegetables and herbs
It is getting late for repeat sowings except for spinach, rocket and the salad vegetables that mature quickly. Spring cabbage should be sown now. Weed control will be less of a problem in vegetables now but it is still best not to let weeds go to seed to avoid building up trouble for the years to come.
Lawn
Since the dry spell in May ended, there have been many days of mixed weather conditions, sunshine and showers, that has been good for growth in general and very good growth of grass has been maintained since. Lawns are looking really well and need no feeding. Wildflower lawns have been excellent in flower this summer.
Flowers
Make sure to continue watering and feeding bedding plants in pots and baskets to keep them growing well and flowering. If they are not well fed and watered, the plants go into decline, having already flowered. Because the roots have now filled the pots, watering has become more critical than before. Feed every two weeks or so.
Trees, shrubs and roses
After a slow start because of a cold, wet spring trees and shrubs recovered rapidly with good weather in May and actually produced secondary growth a good month ahead of normal in late July or early August. Some new plants did suffer in the dry spell because they hadn’t grown out of their pots and were not given good heavy watering.
Greenhouse and house plants
Take cuttings of geraniums and fuchsias and other greenhouse plants such as begonia to overwinter for next year. Continue watering and feeding greenhouse plants. Be careful to water plants in pots or grow-bags regularly. Train and side-shoot tomatoes and give a last feed before stopping feeding tomatoes. Pinch out the lead shoot.
Read more
In the garden with Gerry Daly: Peruvian lily
In the garden with Gerry Daly: mulling over mulleins
Yes, it is an old-fashioned flower much used in cottage gardens of days gone by. When it sends up its flowers and towering stems to 3m or so, it dominates the garden and sets a summery tone. Like many flowers that fall out of fashion, it looks as though it has been rediscovered by a new generation as it is popping up in gardens more frequently than in recent years.
The tall stems of the hollyhock carry a row of large mallow-like flowers, and it is part of the mallow family. This family is noted for many fine garden plants, usually of bright colour, such are hibiscus and abutilon. And hollyhock is varied when it comes to colour – purple, almost black, red, yellow, orange, pink, white and myriad shades between, everything except true blue. The flowers can be single with a broad flat cup-flower, or double-flowered with a mass of frilly petals packed into a big ball.
Hollyhocks are easily grown from seeds and plants sometimes come from self-sown seedlings. Seeds can be sown in summer, either in pots or in the open soil to make plants to overwinter and flower next summer.
When preparing the ground, hollyhocks like it to be rich and well-drained
Sowing directly into the open soil is the best way, but you must keep an eye on the young seedlings, because of the risk of snail damage, until they are a few months old. Sown into the open soil, the young plants are more likely to be able to root deeply, spread their roots and make a big plant. The bigger the plant going into winter, the bigger the flower spike that will form the following summer.
When preparing the ground, hollyhocks like it to be rich and well-drained. Dig in plenty of well-rotted manure and make a low mound to plant or to sow on. Sow the large seeds in groups, and thin out to three or four strong seedlings, moving the surplus seedlings elsewhere if they are needed.
The tall stems are robust but can be prone to blowing over in an exposed garden and they need staking with a tall light stake to which a bamboo cane can be tied, if necessary, as the stem grows tall. The double flowered kinds are more likely to need staking because the flowers are heavy when wet. The single-flowered kinds may not need a stake at all in a well-sheltered garden.
Immediately after flowering the stems should be cut to the ground to destroy the fungus spores that will otherwise overwinter
Hollyhock rust is a fungus disease that attacks the leaves, covering the back of the leaf with orange spots and reducing the vigour of the plant so that it does not perform as well as it should.
Start from seed sown each year to flower the following year and keep a distance from older plants. Young plants are not too badly affected. Immediately after flowering the stems should be cut to the ground to destroy the fungus spores that will otherwise overwinter.
Another trick is to remove the first leaves each spring and destroy them – the cycle of infection starts with the first leaves. Hollyhocks are more prone to rust if the soil is too dry in spring and summer. Feeding with a high-potash tomato food a few times in late spring and early summer of the year of flowering can also help. Worth the effort? Definitely!
Bindweed.
Bindweed, also known as convolvulus, is a serious garden weed. If left uncontrolled, it grows to become a solid mat of greenery that can easily smother shrubs and hedges, blocking out the light and killing the greenery of the affected shrubs or hedge underneath. Bindweed can be controlled by treating it with glyphosate-based weedkiller.
The late summer is a good time for this because the plant takes the chemical deeply into its root system. Tease out some of the stems and roll them into a loose ball. Then, wearing gloves, dip this in a bucket of spray-strength solution and then leave the wetted stems on the ground, not touching other plants. Next April and May, direct-spray any bindweed stems that reappear.
Fruit, vegetables and herbs
It is getting late for repeat sowings except for spinach, rocket and the salad vegetables that mature quickly. Spring cabbage should be sown now. Weed control will be less of a problem in vegetables now but it is still best not to let weeds go to seed to avoid building up trouble for the years to come.
Lawn
Since the dry spell in May ended, there have been many days of mixed weather conditions, sunshine and showers, that has been good for growth in general and very good growth of grass has been maintained since. Lawns are looking really well and need no feeding. Wildflower lawns have been excellent in flower this summer.
Flowers
Make sure to continue watering and feeding bedding plants in pots and baskets to keep them growing well and flowering. If they are not well fed and watered, the plants go into decline, having already flowered. Because the roots have now filled the pots, watering has become more critical than before. Feed every two weeks or so.
Trees, shrubs and roses
After a slow start because of a cold, wet spring trees and shrubs recovered rapidly with good weather in May and actually produced secondary growth a good month ahead of normal in late July or early August. Some new plants did suffer in the dry spell because they hadn’t grown out of their pots and were not given good heavy watering.
Greenhouse and house plants
Take cuttings of geraniums and fuchsias and other greenhouse plants such as begonia to overwinter for next year. Continue watering and feeding greenhouse plants. Be careful to water plants in pots or grow-bags regularly. Train and side-shoot tomatoes and give a last feed before stopping feeding tomatoes. Pinch out the lead shoot.
Read more
In the garden with Gerry Daly: Peruvian lily
In the garden with Gerry Daly: mulling over mulleins
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