Wow, that's some plant! I am curious what experienced hollyhock growers can tell you. I wintersowed mine and they are relatively small but are blooming the past week and a half. They are NO WHERE near the size of your plants and the soil where they are is lean, not too rich; however, I have read that they like fertile soil. I hope you get some blooms and not just leaves. They really are gorgeous plants.

Everywhere I read formally recommended fertile soil, but talking to my neighbors and creepily friending a woman with a beautiful garden and stalking her about the hollyhock she told me her best plants were often ones she had no intention of playing where they grew hahaha. I did sow some seed in a fertile sunnier location just to compare, but not too much to report yet. Also, this area only gets part shade and I know they love the sun, maybe it's helpful that it's mostly morning sun. Its just giant and I've just been deeply watering it patiently waiting for next year's (hopefully) blossoms. I bet yours are beautiful!

Well, no, mine are blooming, but I cant say they are anything to look at except for the blooms....By comparison, mine looked rather emaciatted! Apparently I have something in my garden(s) that LOVES to eat the hollyhock and malva leaves!! I have some hollyhocks, malva zebrina, and malva alcea and they chomp on the leaves. So with that in mind, I didnt expect ALOT from them esp'lly this first year.They are less than 3 feet tall. I dont have photos on this computer but will try and share a photo or 2 later

I'm not an expert but have grown hollyhocks for years. Yours looks normal to me. In fact, very healthy compared to my dismal efforts these last five years.

Powdery mildew, maybe some other ugly disease, and bugs take their tole each year I try to raise them either by seed or transplant. I destroyed a whole row of plants I sowed by seed this Spring because altho they started out healthy they succumbed and I didn't want to spread anything more to the neighborhood.

Someone down the road was having similar problems and gave me the name of a good fungicide and insect spray that has really helped his plants. You have to start very early when the leaves first appear. Altho I hate to use insecticide I will try this next year.

Val, I was just reading about the powdery mildew and how the malva plant is a carrier and can spread the disease to hollyhocks. I love malva too! I have a few plants growing in the orchard but so far do not see the yellow/brown ugly stuff on the leaves.

Fertile soil? I am confused too, because I always read they preferred soil that wasn't too rich. Like others mentioned I've seen them growing in the oddest places you wouldn't imagine they could survive.

Schoolhouse,

I dont have powdery mildew on my hollyhocks (or malva), I just come out and every day, there are holes in leaves or skeletons of leaves on the plants, the bugs have had a field day. Occassionally I get the powdery mildew on my phlox. This year seemed to be better, except 2 plants in pots (other 2 were FINE, right next it), but I trimmed the bad plants and destroyed those leaves.

This being my first year growing hollyhocks, I am far from an expert, but the first blooms were SOOO worth it. I have heard they seed themselves (sometimes all over the garden). I definitely will plant again next year..and alot more. They really were stunning, the few blossoms I had so far, even despite being ravaged by bugs/slugs...I hate to spray stuff, and I figure the bugs will probably eat SOMEthing in my garden; maybe next year I'll try a natural insecticidal spray?

asia waka, another question occurred to me: Are your hollyhocks in full sun or ??

OK, so dont laugh at my meager hollyhocks,but here's a photo with first bloom :)

Skimpy in the leave dept, but very pretty flowers.

Still no blooms! No new heights but they seem to get rounder and rounder! Those blooms are beautiful though, I look forward to mine! Also they are in part shade, the huge maple creates more of an afternoon shadow but the other plants don't seem to mind too much either and produce blooms. I'll post a current picture when I do my morning walk around tomorrow!

I'm not sure what you expected the nursery to say. As you already know Hollyhocks are usually biennial, forming a clump of foliage in the first year. Yours is big and healthy and there's really nothing else to say about it. It will flower next year and worrying about it won't make that happen any sooner. BTW Hollyhocks don't need a lot of water. They love growing in paving in a sunny spot and enjoy sharp drainage.

Here is my seedling this year looking fairly bedraggled. I will be looking forward to it all winter and the color of the blooms will be a surprise!

I was checking around at some nursery sales and when I asked about their hollyhock she said that it was actually two years old and should bloom anyday, so made me curious as to how old the plant I purchased werw, it's not like seed where I know how old the roots are. Maybe I'll check out some of the first year blooming seed to start early and have some blooms to share next year! Arlene yours looks bushy too! That's a comfort! Healthy and we'll be patiently waiting!

I grew mine from seed this spring (winter sowing) and they're huge like yours (6' tall) and blooming, so I guess you never know!

My black hollyhocks put out a rosette of leaves the first year that looks similar to yours, though not quite as large, and the following year it will releaf out and then send up bloom stalks in June. Let some of them go to seed for new plants. Also, do a good job cleaning up old leaves in the fall after frost to reduce the possibility of disease carrying over. I don't generally worry too much about cleanup, but for peonies, hollyhocks, and phlox I find it makes a difference.

Is your Hollyhock putting out buds? I've got two giant plants too and just saw some buds extending out! I have no idea what color they will be, the leaves are shaped differently on each one so I think they'll be two different colors. And the seeds were for double petaled flowers. Oh, and I'm in Central Texas, so whatever zone that is, I think it may be zone 8. It's so exciting, hope your's are doing well this year too. I can't wait to see them. Please post photos. I'd post a photo right now but my iPhoto program isn't working on my Mac.

It's snowing here, so my hollyhock doesn't even have leaves, let alone blooms or buds. The thread was started last summer, so for those of us in cold weather areas, it will be a while yet. Here is my single dark red with a visitor. I've had goldfinches and various sparrow visit for the seeds as well.

My hollyhock retained a nice mound of leaves over our unseasonably warm winter, and it put out some new ones over the last few weeks, but there are no signs of blooms yet. We are having a winter throwback this week with temps in the 20's this morning so I am hopeful it won't be set back too much.

NHBabs, great photo! I hope to get some hummers visiting mine as well.

Arlene, the plant is in a corner between the main house and the ell, and has 3 windows that overlook this small garden. It's like having a bird blind as far as taking photos; as long as I don't move too suddenly I can be just a few feet away.

Great photo, NHBabs! Looks like he loves those blooms. If I can upload a photo from my phone I'll post some photos but I doubt mine will have hummingbirds. I'll check in from time to time, can't wait to see everyone's blooms.

We just had a lot of rain here in Austin and now, a day or so after I'm seeing one spot of rust on the bottom row of leaves on one of my Hollyhocks. I flashed back to reading somewhere that the fungus or whatever is in the soil and is splashed onto the leaves to start the process.

To avoid it continuing I'm removing the leaf and am adding a layer of granite gravel/pebbles underneath the plant to stop the splashing? What do y'all think? Have you tried blocking the soil but allowing it drainage as a management method? Do I have a chance at keeping it away with a continued rain chance for the next several days?

Also, I found out why my Hollyhocks are so huge, I found the seed packet from 2 or 3 years ago stashed in my seed collection, Burpee's Fordhook Giant Double Petaled. It took several years for the seeds to (and only two when I remember planting 8 or so) germinate.

Anyhow, what do y'all think about mulching with gravel to protect the plant. I've also noticed that the one time I watered with a hose under the plants a bottom leaf or two would turn yellow which I left so as not to create a break that would be open to pests. Now if watering is needed I spray the hose upwards in the air to de-chlorinate it and let it rain down on the leaves just like natural rain and let the wide leaves decide how it is distributed. Maybe I'm just a nut but so far, (until this non-stop rain) they have been doing incredible!

Lol, I'm hooked on Hollyhocks!

Wow, beautiful hollyhocks in this thread. My skimpy hollyhocks could win the ugly hollyhocks contest. I wish i had any of yours.

Hey all! Last year I planted several seeds and after finally putting a fence around them to keep the rabbits out a couple started really growing and ever produced flowers last year as well. A couple of months ago I cut those stocks way down thinking that would give them a nudge to start in again this year. So far nothing is happening. The ones that didn't grow much last year, thanks to the rabbits, are really greening up now. I wonder if the ones that bloomed last year will bloom again this year? Or will they wait until next year now? Not really understanding this whole biennial thing. Though I'm not convinced these are those since the packet of seed said Perennial. I would appreciate your guys thoughts on this. Apologies for highjacking the thread from the op

Matt, Not a hijack IMO since it relates to growing hollyhocks. Mine occasionally come back more than one year, but not always. I think most are relatively short-lived, though some may be longer lived. I just make sure that I let some seed ripen and fall to the ground each year. Then I can be sure I will continue to have them. Biennials grow just leaves in a basal rosette the first year and send up flowering stalks the second year. Sometimes it will flower a third year, but that can't be counted on. Rarely mine take a year and a half to bloom if they started late the first season but were too tiny going into the second season to support flowers.

Susan I just remove effected leaves (or sometimes the whole plant if it's really bad), so I don't know if mulch will make a difference. It didn't help with my tomatoes though I had heard it would prevent soil-borne diseases.

I asked this in a separate thread, as I have some hollyhocks that bloomed the first year and are growing again. I was told if they're growing again they'll bloom again. When they're done with their cycle they die.

I planted this one from seed last year, I wonder if it will bloom this year? It probably needs more sunlight so I guess we see.

Back in the day, hollyhocks were often planted in an out of the way place so the ugly foliage wasn't a problem. The stalks can be trimmed off after bloom unless you are saving seed. I love it but don't think of it as a front garden plant.

Just an update! Still patiently waiting for flowers hahah!

We called hollyhocks "outhouse plant" because the were often grown along the walls of the outhouse in our rural area. I remember my mom growing them along the unused outhouse at our new farm. No outhouse here in suburbia so grow mine at the back of the garage. Found two Russian hollyhocks in last year's winter sown jugs and am hoping for those luminous yellow blooms this year.

Still waiting for flowers here too, but theyre growing like mad and they're budding! I think they'll bloom a lot earlier this year, so I should be able to get seed. Last year they bloomed so late the pollinators were all gone.

My single hollyhock looks like its budding too. Can't wait to find out what color it is.

Mine is in bloom...a real focal point in my small urban garden. I am in love with it.

Update, my ugly duckling hollyhock has turned into a beautiful swan. This is the prettiest hollyhock in the neighborhood. 10 foot tall and just starting to put on a big show. She's covered in buds, and has suckers.

Arlene, the color of yours is amazing!

My dark red one just began blooming last week, but since I already posted a photo from last year upthread, I won't repost.

These are the same hollyhocks that bloomed very late last year which was their first year. They've come back better than ever! They're in two shades of red - I particularly like the deep wine red ones.

These are called peaches and cream. The heat has been hard on them so they look a little ragged, but they are one of my favorites.

I purchased 3 seedlings last spring (2015) and planted them. They got bushier but didn't get tall or bloom. This spring they grew into the most spectacular holly hocks! I hadn't had any previous experience with them but I"m guessing it just takes a year for them to get situated. I hope they bloom for you next year. Truly worth the wait.

How quickly love fades. I ripped mine out a few weeks ago as it got ratty after booming and was blocking the sun from reaching some other perennials. It was phenomenal in bloom, but not worth keeping in the prominent spot where I had it. I was hoping it would have a longer bloom period as well. I used to drive by a black hollyhock in the front of a business on the way to work that bloomed practically all summer. Perhaps it was a longer blooming variety, or it received more sun or fertilizer than mine did.

Hi, I know this is an old thread, but @asia waka - from your post dates am I correct to assume it did take 2 years for yours to bloom? I planted two varieties of seeds this spring and one variety (Fordhook Giants) look just like your pic- they have leaves 1' across and are very lush. The other one is much smaller. But it's now August and there is no sign of a flower stalk. I planted hollyhock seeds a couple years ago in April and they bloomed in August that same year. I just did some research and learned that some hollyhocks do bloom their first year, while others (including the types I planted this year) do not. I'm wondering if there is any way I can force them to bloom this year, as where i live the plants will certainly succumb to a fungus in our mild, rainy winter.

I have found that fall planting sometimes is best for first year blooms no matter the variety, mine bloomed this year but I put them out as babies since they have such a long tap root- in early spring. They are not out of control and I need to dead head then to get a second flush. Yes they do not like to go to bed wet, or they get rusty. Im unfortunately splitting from my partner and taking all my holly hock seeds with me. This year has beeen weird, my mock orsnge bloomed twice and my shade plants did well!! I usually don’t get so much growth in baskets. If you really want to give it a last try- and are open to chemical fertilizers I would go with super bloom. I’ll show you my hollyhocks currently. My front yard is cottage style lol.

Well they aren’t at their prime but are already blooming again as I dead heas

I have fed mine bloom booster but I suspect that the biennials can't be forced to bloom early with just fertilizer. It seems they need gibberellic acid to force them early. But I'll wait and see what happens. I just had to cut back the leaves because they've gotten so big they block my garden path.

Tastie, IME the only thing I have found that lets biennials bloom the first year is if you start them very early indoors with great lighting so they are huge when planted out, and essentially have a years worth of growth on them.

I don’t know that I agree that they will succumb to a rainy winter. Mine occasionally get rust (and those I remove before it spreads) but not once have they gotten mildew. We often have very wet springs that last a long period of cold and wet, and I have not had issues. What is your soil like?

I was trying to figure out why my three-month old hollyhocks were so massive. They are already 2 1/2 feet high and very bushy, with leaves sprawling everywhere and so dense that they are shading the lower leaves. I've got the world's most horrible soil -- 65% heavy clay (drains fine though due to the rest being sand) -- and I'd amended the bed with a natural compost before planting it, but otherwise, no fertilizer added. Water it lightly every two days. I'd offer a photo but it's dark, but I just wanted to share that they were so massive that I was a bit concerned! Especially since the leaves were so heavy already that I wound up staking them with sticks all around.

So apparently they like really heavy clay. They only get 3-4 hours of mid-noon sun and that's it. But they look like Jurassic Park. This is some odd soil. Everything grows incredibly large that I plant in it. I think it most be very nitrogen rich, perhaps.

But I still couldn't square the hollyhocks I've seen in photos with the ones I have growing. Quite sure they'll get awful rust though in winter and I'll have to put some other flower in front of them.

Eager to see them bloom next year. They are black and a nice sized bed of them with 15 or so plants. Likely I'll have to thin them to fewer.

@Sara B. Same here!! My soil doesn't seem TOO bad, but clay is the usual soil here. The leaves on my are enormous. I've cut them back several times because they block my garden path and are shading other flowers, hastening the powdery mildew. But everything I planted in the ground in this new (to me) yard has gotten huge. My zinnias reached 7', which I didn't know was possible. My cosmos also reached 7'. Huge sunflowers. Really amazing.

@NHBabs z4b-5a NH the hollyhock leaves have already gotten some powdery mildew, as most everything does here by end of summer. it's just part of growing here. We have mild days and cool, often moist (very foggy) nights. Summers are mostly high 50s at night to low 70s in the day. Dry during the day, moist at night. Perfect climate for PM. I'll be cutting back most of the leaves of the hollyhocks soon in preparation for fall and winter planting and a temporary greenhouse. I'll leave the plants and hope they come back and flower in the spring.

Clay soil tends to hold both moisture and nutrients, and with reasonable drainage and added organic mater, that sound about ideal for many plants.

Cleaning up diseased or old foliage to reduce spores, and trimming enough to allow reasonable air circulation both help control powdery mildew.

I plant sunflowers in front of the hollyhock to hide how mangled they get about this time. So I currently have just the tips blooming in my hollyhock, while I wait for the seeds to be ready to burst (into a bag because with a move in doing slot of seed saving)

its too dark to grab a picture- but they finally regrew and put out another tiny round of shows- funny how much this little patch changes so constantly, kale will take most of the place when we get firsts. I have some sweet peas that smell to die for that have certainly become one of my favorite parts of this spot.

and also, holllllllyyyyyyy seeeds!!! There are so many I feel jipped at the store!