Cottage industry

Actually, if you really want to grow a hollyhock, there’s not a lot to stop you.

During July and August this impressive plant produces blooms in a variety of rich and delicate colours, from the deepest crimsons and maroons, to blush pinks, whites and pale yellows, all borne in a long succession on tall stems 1-3 metres high.

Most hollyhocks are technically biennials – producing leaves the first year and flowers the next. However they often last longer than two years and so can be described as short-lived perennials.

Hollyhocks are old cottage garden favourites and seem especially at home in corners and narrow flower borders near walls where they are protected in the winter from the wet. They are very drought resistant. Hollyhock seed is large, and easy to handle. Sow it in trays filled with sandy soil to within 1 cm of the rim then cover with 1 cm of compost. Place the trays in a cold frame and shade them if the weather is warm. When sowing in spring a greenhouse or warm frame is an advantage.

If space is limited, hollyhocks may be sown more thickly and transplanted as soon as they show a true leaf – either into trays or singly into small pots. Grow on and harden off carefully.

As hollyhocks grow tall and are often exposed to the full force of the wind, it pays to provide strong stakes as support. Hollyhocks love a deep, rich, loamy soil – but they will often thrive without it.

If you water hollyhocks during the summer months give them a thorough soaking, followed by a mulch of well rotted manure.

There is a long succession of flowers, and as the lower blooms fade they should be picked. And when flowering is over for the season, the plants can be cut down to about 15-20cm.

If taken care of in this way, hollyhock plants will often last for several years but many people choose to treat them as biennials and propagate favourites by taking cuttings from the base of a plant during September and October. This is the best way to beat the dreaded rust, a fungal disease of the foliage, spread by airborne spores. Sadly, it is worse during wet summer weather – so don’t expect 2012 to be the best year for the hollyhock.