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Hollyhock biennial question

13 years ago

I bought bare root Hollyhocks that are supposed to bloom this year. They are supposed to be biennial. I understand I can collect the seeds and they will probably do some self seeding so that I will have these again (hopefully). Now here is some of my confusion/questions

The root I planted this year.... Will it die off this fall/winter never to be seen again or will it 'maybe' come back next year and just not bloom? Is it possible it may live a few years and only bloom every other year? If it comes back, will it get 'tall', just no blooms?

The seeds that fall or are planted next spring, it will take two year before they bloom, correct? So seeds planted fall 2011/Spring 2012 will not bloom until Summer 2013, right? Will the plants from the seed in 2012 grow tall, but just no blooms?

Featured Answer

mosswitch

13 years ago

Holly hocks are very easy to grow, even from seed. Most varieities, especially the old-fashioned ones, take two years to bloom, which does make them biennial, but often they live two or more years after that, which actually makes them a short-lived perennial that takes two years to bloom.

They reseed themselves which renews the patch, so if the older plants die there are always new ones to take their places. Hollyhock seeds do need light to germinate, so they should be lightly covered, not more than 1/4" of soil or none at all.

There are newer varieties that do bloom the first year from seed.

Hollyhocks also don't like transplanting all that much. I don't know about planting them bare root, but I guess it would be worth a shot. I always have a few that reseed into the gravel paths and have to be moved, but I do that in late fall or early spring while they are small, with a nice clump of soil and usually don't lose any.

The seeds can lie fallow in the soil for years if they are deep and dark. I had some sprout this last fall after apparently spending some 40 years buried in soil under ground cover that was removed and the soil disturbed with the seeds coming to the surface. There was a patch in that particular place in the l950's, according to a neighbor. This spring the plants are 4' tall (and wide, I've never seen such huge hollyhocks) and getting ready to bloom. I'm excited to see what color they will be!

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Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
biennials grow from seed year one... then bloom and set seed in year two.. then die ... the 'bi' part of the name implies 2 years ... if they lived more than 2 .. then they would be perennials.. words mean things in this instance ...

because of the whole greenhouse thing.. sometimes you get some so out of phase something weird happens... but we dont bet money on that ...

what i used to do.. is buy one two years running ... once they start dropping seed.. you get a cycle going.. and can continue to grow them ..... presuming the seeds are winter viable in your zone ...

whether or not a named variety will come true from the seed may be another issue ...

i am wondering who the source is for bare root hollyhocks???? if you bought from some of our disfavored sources ... you may have bigger problems than what you are worrying about ...

just plant them .. enjoy them .. and remember where they were planted.. so that if those seeds do sprout next spring.. you have some recollection not to pull them all out as weeds.. lol.. been there.. done that ...

have fun

ken
flora_uk
13 years ago
Hollyhocks are perennial in favoured conditions. Some strains will flower in their first year from seed. Named strains of seed from reputable companies should come largely true but self sown or saved seeds can produce different colours. I collected seed from a lovely lemon yellow hollyhock which gave me a plant with burgundy blooms.
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Hi Wytch and all, I typically follow mother nature's regime where seeds fall from our mature hollyhocks in mid to late summer and sprout to become little plants before winter, to survive and bloom the following winter (whether perennial types or biennial types)....soooo, I'd say in zone 7 you're fine to plant them right now to get small plants to overwinter this winter. I bet most will bloom next year (if the perennial type) or all will (if the biennial type). I just planted a few (okay a ton) seeds two weeks ago and they're up and making great progress. They've got enough time to become reasonable small plants by winter to bloom next year. For summer-sowing, I just start them in pots outside (though in the ground would work as well). Oh, and I move mine all the time except when they're getting ready to flower, I think the best time is in spring after they're showing signs of waking up again, but not growing full-bore yet. Just keep them well watered when you move them. Let us know what you do, and how it works out. Like most things, if you ask four gardeners you'll get five answers, so I'm sure others will chime in with methods just as good, or better, than mine. :) Take care, Grant Here is a link that might be useful: 'Old Barnyard' hollyhocks from Wayside
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Nice looking plants! They will die if they are done. If they are putting out new foliage, they are starting another year and will be putting out bloom stalks. IME some of them may bloom for more than one season, but be sure to let at least a few seed pods ripen if you want them long-term. You can't count on them being perennial, though sometimes they behave as short-lived perennials.
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aprilbird
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks all. I'll have to wait and see how these pan out. I knew the 'two years to bloom' thing, but I didn't realize the plant would die off after it bloomed once. Sound like it might 'possibly' stick around. I'll just have to wait and see. I will be collecting seeds and renewing the beds (I hope).
flora_uk
13 years ago
" ...but I didn't realize the plant would die off after it bloomed once ..." Aprilbird, only ken suggested this. Mosswitch and I explained that this is not likely. They are not biennials.
hostaholic2 z 4, MN
13 years ago
Here in the frozen northland they are usually biennial. Occasionally I'll have have a plant come back and bloom the next year, but that is not the norm. Jelitto Seeds has some hollyhocks that are supposed to bloom the first year from seed and be perennial. Don't know if that will hold true here in the frozen north.

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