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Hollyhocks

alanaldred5alanaldred5 Posts: 13
in Plants
Last year I tried my hand at growing from seeds and bought some Hollyhocks. Potted them in December and planted them outside in March. They all grew but only a few shot up and flowered. Now they've finished flowering I don't know what to do. Presumably I cut down the ones what flowered at the bottom of the stalk but the leaves on all of them looking a bit rough. Do I cut them off as well?

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I would remove the worst of the leaves and leave the rest … whether they die back completely over the winter depends largely on the weather and how sheltered it is … but if they remain they’re protecting the crown of the plant.
     
    In the spring there’ll be new leaves and you can cut away the old ones if they look shabby. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • KiliKili Posts: 1,104
    Collect the seed before you chop the stems down and then next year you can sow them early in pots or just move some of that gravel rake the soil a bit and throw some of the seed down. I'd just take off the damaged leaves and the stems and leave the rest.

    Hollyhock seed freely and are hardy biennials or short-lived perennials and can survive winters down to -16 c. 


    'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.

    George Bernard Shaw'

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