Hollyhock (Alcea) mixed colours – 2 litres

We have a number of our own hollyhocks grown from our own seed, a lovely clear yellow, red with a yellow throat, a pretty pink, a pink with a yellow center and radiating yellow lines and we have also discovered a fig-leaf variety with a deep purple flower. We are very excited about this last one.

We ONLY grow single flowered hollyhock as opposed to the double type as the doubles are sterile and provide no food for our beloved pollinators.  Our girls grow to around 5-6 feet tall and provide a wonderful cottage feel to any border – If you need to keep them in a pot you may need to offer a supporting cane as they may not have enough room to anchor their roots. Please don’t tidy them away too quickly so that they can self seed for you – blown by the wind into other areas of the garden, or indeed your neighbours gardens, free from pesticides as a gift from nature.

Hollyhocks are easy to grow from seed in spring. Prepare a seed tray with peat-free seed compost and water well, allowing the water to drain. The seeds are large enough to space evenly on the compost surface. Place them about 1.5cm apart from the next. Sieve seed compost over the seeds. Ideally place the tray in a propagator set at about 15-20°C.

In about 2 weeks you should see signs of germination. It can take a further five weeks before plants are ready to prick out. The plants should be ready to plant out in June but won’t flower until the following year.