Family: Malvaceae
Common Name: Hollyhock

This is a large genus of short-lived biennial and perennial herbs from Europe and central Asia.

Species

A. rosea is a perennial flowering in summer. It has for long been very popular with English gardeners for their cottage and country gardens. With the cottage-garden style becoming popular in other parts of the world, including the US, this delightful old-fashioned plant should become more widely grown. It was susceptible to rust disease, and so suffered a period of neglect. However, hybrids bred for annual Cultivation with greater resistance are now available and hollyhocks are once more becoming popular. This species has tall, spire-like stems, to 2.5 m (8 ft) or more, and roundish, rough-textured leaves with lobed margins. 'fhe axillary flowers are either single or double and come in white or shades of pink, red or mauve.

Cultivation

Hollyhocks like a well-dug soil, with added organic material, and a sunny position sheltered from strong wind. Propagate from seed sown in seed beds in late spring or early summer. Plant out the seedlings when they are about six to eight weeks old. Care must be taken not to let snails and slugs attack them at this stage. Apply a balanced fertilizer a few weeks later and water regularly to ensure healthy, well-grown plants. Spray with a fungicide in humid weather to help control rust.

Climate

Zone 7 and above.