Hollyhock Growers Mix (Alcea rosea) – Tall Cottage Garden Perennial (Set of 3 or 6)

Hollyhocks give you the tall flower spikes that define a cottage garden, and this mix comes in a grower's blend of colours.

Each plant sends up stately, columnar spikes from June to September, lined with wide open flowers that bees and butterflies work all summer. Grown against a wall or a fence, or at the back of a border, they carry colour well above everything planted in front of them, and the stems are good for cutting.

Give them full sun, shelter and fertile soil that drains freely. The spikes are tall enough to blow over in an exposed spot, so stake them, and stake them without fail near the sea, where hollyhocks cope with salt air but not with wind on an unsupported stem. They are usually short lived, often behaving as a biennial that flowers in its second summer and then seeds itself around the garden. Rust on the leaves is very common and does not usually kill the plant. Deadhead as the flowers fade to keep them going, and cut the old stems down in autumn. Supplied as established plants in 1L pots, in a mix of colours chosen by the nursery.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Hollyhock, common hollyhock
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: 150 to 250 cm tall and 30 to 60 cm wide
• Growth Habit: Tall, upright and columnar
• Perfect For: Cottage gardens, the back of a border, against walls and fences, and cutting
• Foliage: Large, rounded, lobed green leaves
• Flowering Time: June to September
• Planting Position: Full sun and sheltered, including dry soil and coastal gardens with staking
• Soil Type: Fertile, well-drained soil
• Hardiness: Fully hardy
• Maintenance: Stake the spikes, deadhead through summer and cut the old stems back in autumn
• Seasonal Interest: Summer and autumn
• Type: Hardy herbaceous perennial, often short lived