How to Grow Hollyhocks

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How to grow hollyhocks in your garden. A few tips and tricks for those that struggle.

Hollyhocks are a pollinator host plant and beautiful flower that adds height and beauty to any garden.  You can grow Hollyhocks in your garden, even beginner gardeners!

Let’s grow Hollyhocks (some spell it Holly hocks) in your Cottage Garden one easy step at a time.

A simple-to-grow biennial or perennial (depending on cultivar) that is perfect for beginner gardeners.

  • Plant Hollyhocks in a location that gets 4 to 6 hours of sun
  • Plant from seed or buy plants at the garden center
  • You can start seeds directly in the garden in Fall or sow in the garden a few weeks before the last frost
  • Keep well watered until they are growing well. Once established they are quite drought tolerant.
Pink hollyhocks with text overlay, How to Grow Hollyhocks, Flower Patch Farmhouse

Hollyhocks have been part of Cottage gardens from the beginning.  Many equate them with England but in fact, the English got them from the Middle East during the crusades.

The soldiers brought the seeds home because of the many medicinal uses of the plant.

It is believed the name ‘Holy Hocks’ is derived from treating sore horse hooves on the battlefields during that time and somehow it became Hollyhock.

Medium pink hollyhock with bee, How to Grow Hollyhocks, Flower Patch Farmhouse

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Hollyhocks are considered biennials but mine have lived for several years now, so I consider them more of a perennial.  

Grow Hollyhock from Seeds

Many of my freely reseeding plants get sown in Fall and they bloom the following Summer, Hollyhocks are one of them.  

To read how you can start Hollyhock seeds easily in Fall, just click to read...Sow your seeds in Fall.  How to save Hollyhock seeds after they bloom is included in that post.

Many times I don’t do a thing other than let the plant drop its seeds in place but if I am taking seeds to another spot in the garden I will loosen the soil with my Hoe Dag and toss the seeds on top.

Press the seeds into the soil with a firm step.  Sprinkle a bit of compost or soil on top, not much, the seeds do need light to germinate, and then let them overwinter in place.

Hollyhock plants get rather large so thin the seedlings out in Spring to about 18 inches to 2 feet apart. Doing this helps them stay healthier. (I rarely do this but it is most likely the best practice)

If you wish to start some in pots in February you will still get blooms in Summer.  Hollyhocks are a perfect candidate for Winter Sowing, if you want to start a lot of seeds easily then give it a try!

Related: Winter Sowing Seeds

Bright pink Hollyhock, how to grow hollyhocks, Flower Patch Farmhouse dot com

To start seeds in a greenhouse or inside your home, plant the seeds in pots or trays, space the seeds about an inch or so apart, press them into the soil, and sprinkle a bit of potting mix on top, very lightly firm it down.  

I will sometimes pre-germinate the seeds like I do my Delphiniums.

The seeds like it warm to get started so at 70-75 degrees they will germinate in 14 to 28 days.

Plant the hollyhock seedlings out in the garden about 2 weeks after the last frost. (they prefer warmer soil)

heirloom hollyhock plant, light pink, Flower Patch Farmhouse dot com
Growing Hollyhock Flowers

Hollyhocks like fertile soil with regular moisture though once established they are drought tolerant.  

We have some around the neighborhood that thrive in gravelly soil close to the road with no irrigation. For best performance, irrigate from below and provide good air circulation.

After flowering, cut back plants hard, to within a few inches of the ground. 

Mulch and fertilize with some well-composted manure and you may get another flush of blooms.  (much depends on your growing season)

Once you get Hollyhocks established you will have them forever.  You will have to be sure and deadhead them to prevent getting too many, they spread easily but that is all part of gardening.

Single-flower hollyhocks attract hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies and they are host plants for the Painted Lady larvae.  So Hollyhocks are a must in your Butterfly garden!

Red hollyhock, Flower Patch Farmhouse

Bees like the easy accessibility of the single hollyhocks but the doubles are just too gorgeous not to grow as well.

White double hollyhocks, how to grow hollyhocks, Flower Patch Farmhouse

Where to Plant Hollyhocks

Hollyhock plants can get up to 10 feet tall and when the flowers are blooming near the top they get top-heavy and can topple over.  

Plants may need staking to keep upright, especially if you have much wind.

They look best up against a wall or at the back of a border where they can be used as a screen.

 It is claimed that back in the in the old days Hollyhocks were planted in such as way as to screen the view of the outhouse from the main house which sounds like a very practical use of them to me.

They like full sun with lots of heat.  Some will tolerate a little shade but it can cause them to ‘reach’ for the sun and lean.

Hollyhock Problems

Hollyhocks are easy to grow, but they are not without their problems. When growing hollyhock flowers, you need to keep an eye out for rust.

Rust will typically attack the lower leaves but it may spread to upper leaves.  In the past couple of years, Rust has become a problem for me.  

See the little brownish yellow spores under the leaf?

Pink hollyhock with rust on leaves, Flower Patch Farmhouse

You can try to use a fungicide but I found that had limited success.

So I have resorted to just cutting off the infected leaves and let it bloom. Or if a plant is very infected I chop it off low to the ground and let it regrow.

It seems that later in the season the rust is not as prevalent though the hollyhocks will stay shorter.

Dispose of the leaves, don’t compost them, the rust spores won’t be killed off and the problem will continue.

In the photo below you can see they are only about 2 or 3 feet tall.

volunteer hollyhocks in garden bed, Flower Patch Farmhouse

This old neighborhood has lots of hollyhocks growing around that are infected with Rust and the spores travel on the wind. So if I want rust free I probably need to grow a variety that is resistant.

Botanical Interests have a variety of Hollyhocks that are reputed to be rust-resistant and I will start some of those to try, they are called Happy Lights.

Hollyhocks come in various colors, even ones that are nearly black called the Watchman!  

There are also some dwarf varieties but I have yet to grow them so I cannot say how well they do compared to the others.

Red hollyhock, flower Patch Farmhouse

If they grow well in your region you can keep them in check by pruning them back hard before they start to go to seed. 

For some people, the ease in which Hollyhocks reseed and grow abundantly is a nuisance but that is easily cured by not allowing the seeds to drop.  

Don’t be afraid to plant these wonderful flowers and enjoy the beauty they bring to your garden.

beautiful pink hollyhocks in front of an old outhouse

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Happy Gardening!

Hi, I’m Pamela

I am a 40-year master gardening enthusiast who loves to share the simple tips, tricks, and inspiration I have learned from personal experience.
My goal is to cultivate the love of gardening and help make your gardening life more enjoyable!
a Garden Friend!

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20 Comments

  1. Bev Votta says:

    Love my Holyhocks, but have no clue how they got in my front garden! I live in oklahoma city, OK and am happily perplexed.
    How can I get seeds from my plants. My neighbor wants some!

  2. I am eighty and quite stiff in the legs and back. I think raised beds would be good. Any structure is helpful. My easiest bed is between the house and the curved walk to the front door. For easier care, How about a small tree, a few small shrubs, some ferns and hostas, and some varied plants in a couple of biggish pots? My herb pots have been rewarding. I also had annuals in a strawberry pot that were colorful and easy.

  3. That is a good topic to start on the blog, gardening for the aged and those with limited physical abilities. I also need to start thinking of this as I am now 57 and need to consider where I will be in 10 years and how I will care for the garden.

  4. I forgot in my comment I live in brantford Ontario Canada thank you for your help

  5. I am moving next summer to a new house with my son and his family. There is no garden. I need to plant something that doesn’t take much work as I had a stroke and am now limited with what I can do. Any suggestions I have help for the planting but not the upkeep. I’m 69 and can’t imagine no garden

  6. david wood says:

    I live in San Jose and have many hollyhocks that emerge in my yard and vege garden. I pick the flowers and a ready to open bud. I use a thin bamboo skewer as a stem and insert it through the center flower of the and leave about an inch of it sticking through the stem side of the flower. Then peel off a couple of the green sections on the bud to reveal a little face on the bud, you will see little eyes and pierce the stem end with the sharp end of the skewer. This makes a little balerina on a stick with a hair do of the flower bud. They will dry up on the stick and look like a crepe paper balerina for several months ( like a dried rose). I take these to events and give to women of all ages .You can also do two flowers together like a slip and a dress

  7. You are most welcome. I wish you success with your Hollyhocks. If you are on the lookout for more varieties of Hollyhocks I know SwallowTail Garden seeds have some wonderful ones. I hope you see a warm up soon.

  8. Naomi Shelton says:

    Pamela, I can’t tell you how much I love hollyhocks! But I’ve never grown them! Isn’t that ridiculous? My grandmother always had hollyhocks growing next to the garage and that is where I want mine to grow. I do have some seeds and I was glad to see you write that they could be started in Feb. Because I didn’t get them in last fall. So I am going to get them in some dirt in the next week or two and see if I get some blooms yet this coming summer.

    Actually, I can hardly believe in summer at all in the midst of these below zero temps we are having here in Michigan. It is brutal. I am sitting in my living room with about three layers of clothes on and still my hands and feet and nose are freezing! I think it’s time to go to bed; it’s the only place in the house to get warm!

    Thanks for the the post on these beautiful flowers and for the hope they bring of Spring coming again!

  9. I have not heard or read about Hollyhocks poisoning horses but even with Foxgloves they don’t like them so would not typically eat them. Most animals avoid them in general, even the starving deer. The texture and taste is not to their liking. Of course, caution is always advisable.

  10. It’s foxglove I have, I meant. Not hollyhocks, which don’t do well here. Too humid.

  11. Wildly rampant hollyhocks won’t kill anything will they? Not like foxglove. I had them one year and they spread seed despite my efforts to stop that. Now i have to grub them out of my acreage each year. Always one or two or so that I miss. All I need is for them to spread to the neighbor’s pasture. Don’t want to kill off or hurt their horses. Keeps me exercised, traipsing around searching for them.

  12. Yep, Botanical Interests still has packets of the Outhouse Hollyhocks. The past few years I have been battling rust on mine, it affects the foliage, but the flowers are still beautiful.

  13. I tried to grow Hollyhocks (They were called Outhouse Hollyhocks” haha) and didn’t have any luck. Love Hollyhocks and they did well in the bay area. Perhaps I will again try in Arnold.

    Thanks for your postings.
    Teri

  14. I lived briefly in Counsel, Idaho and I have relatives that live in Boise. I am not sure your relatives are completely correct but go to Edwards Greenhouse in Boise… (it is gorgeous) they would be able to best tell you what you can successfully grow. You will love visiting them, it was a must place for me to make a stop at anytime I was in that area and I often made a trip just to enjoy. I think you are a Zone 7, so I don’t know why Hollyhocks wouldn’t do well for you. here is a link to Edwards website: https://www.edwardsgreenhouse.com/

  15. I have grown the most beautiful Hollyhocks here in Vancouver BC.bought baby plants from a garden centre.each plant grew to more than 5 feet and bore gorgeous large blooms.various colors.
    Pity that I did not collect the seeds.
    Planning to grow them this summer

  16. Linda Tague says:

    Thanks for the very interesting hollyhock article!
    I’ve tried to grow them over the years with little success. My GM had them in Brush Prairie, Wa, and they did so well. I had fair success in the Felida area of Vancouver, Wa, but when I moved to the Salmon Creek area there, where I was for 40 yrs, i guess it was too damp, they just did nothing really, my acre was a bit swampy.
    I did have 2 over the yrs that did pretty well 😗.
    I’ve now moved to Nampa, Idaho. I planted seed last spring, some double, some single. I transplanted 30 into the ground at summers end. I’m praying they do well! It’s been very cold here, but I’ve talked with people who have them here, and successfully.
    I’m due for Hollyhocks!
    I’ll sure miss my Rhodies, Hydrangeas, Foxgloves, Ferns, etc, that loved my coolish damp yard! My relatives here say they don’t do well here.
    I may try them anyway. They were all lush and gigantic in Wa.

  17. They sound beautiful. I want to grow many more doubles but they don’t seem to reseed as readily as the standards for me. Maybe I just don’t have enough of them yet. 🙂

  18. I grew these beauties and they were just awesome-Since then we sold our home and had left the seeds with the new owners Hope they made good use of it
    We had huge double flowers dense and just glorious!in various hues from Pale pinks to deep fusia to scarlet almost black, vibrant yellows reds purples
    My favorite blooms after peonies

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