I'm thinking of buying a few hollyhocks Chaters Double Purple. I've never grown them before, so could anyone fill me in regarding their habits and anything else about them which would be useful to know. Many thanks.
They often get rust, it’s important to water from the base if possible, and give them airflow. They may need staking depending on the location. That being said I have a few coming up behind some roses, bad airflow and hard to water from the base, so we’ll see how it goes rust-wise.
@Omori They're on offer at the moment in 9cm pots for a couple of quid each, so they'll be young plants I'm thinking. Do you think they will flower this year if that is the case.
I just grow smaller plants infront of the hollyhocks so you cant see the rust. I dont stake mine either, they're pretty flexible and look great swaying around in the breeze. I find them very resilient. I've never managed to kill a hollyhock yet😉.
Hi, we have many in our garden and I love them. We never staked them and we have a bush at the moment that is more than 2 meters high. They grow in the most hard places, the big 2 meter bush is growing in the gravel in a super sunny south facing spot. We have other plants, one in the gravel too, but in a west facing spot with more shade and it's far smaller, shorter and has just a couple of flowers. Many plants are growing in a very dry and poor soil, in a south facing, dry flowerbed where almost nothing else but weeds grow. We do not water them with particular abundance (a lot less than hydrangeas, for examples). Slugs and very strong wind are their enemies in our experience.
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If you don't and the thing snaps/gets badly damaged you'll kick yourself.