What to Do with Hollyhocks After Blooming (& One Thing To Avoid)

In my nous , I ’ve always associated althea with summer holiday at the beach .

Even this yr , my beach vacation was mark with oooh - ing ! and aaaah - ing ! over the olympian hollyhock torches that were dotted around the small coastal townsfolk we were staying in .

They seem to flourish in the sandy soil and the humid weather . It probably also helps that the sea breeze keep the air travel around these rust fungus - prone plants flow freely .

To me, hollyhocks are the quintessential beach town flowers.

Back home , my own althaea had had a short season in the sun . They were just opening up before we left in June and were already done flowering by mid - July . ( Every year , I swear that I wo n’t go locomote when the garden is in full swing . And every February , in the murk of seasonal emotive disorder , I end up booking a summertime holiday . )

Now the question is, what do I do with my hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) once they’re done blooming?

At this time of year , for most of the plants in my garden the answer is “ not much . ” But for hollyhocks , this laissez - faire approach is less of a pick because , frankly , they incline to seem rather ragged once they ’ve complete blossom .

So here are a few options to deal with them .

1. Let the seedpods dry up naturally.

I name the ragged appearing of late - time of year hollyhock for a reason . Once the flowers are done , we ’re tempt to just trim back down the plant and clean up the garden of this Cinderella . But if we want the hollyhock paradise to keep going yr after class , we should exercise a second of solitaire . At least long enough to gather the seeds .

With hollyhocks , there ’s this window of time when the source fuel pod are to the full form but they have n’t fully dried . Yes , it ’s tantalising to just snip them off and let them dry on a paper . But you ’ll have better solution if you allow the seeds to dry up naturally in their pods .

2. Collect the hollyhock seeds.

You ’ll recognise it ’s time to collect the seeds when the pods have a crumbly , papery texture and start opening up on their own . Keep in mind that not all hollyhocks seeds are brown . Some miscellanea may be yellow-bellied or even white . As long as the seed are dry to the touch , they ’re ready for pick and storage .

Every hollyhock rosette will have multiple seeds ( very much resembling a sliced tall mallow cycle ) . Once you ’ve collected the seeds , you’re able to store them in a cool , dry and obscure place over the summertime months and plant them back where you want them this nightfall or the undermentioned spring .

3. Plant some new hollyhocks every year.

If you ’ve never grown hollyhock in your garden before , you may guess that they are perennial plant life . And for a good reason too . If you see a flower pour down up yr after year in the same location ( and even spread around aver location quite a bite ) , label it as a perennial would be a safe assumption .

But one of import detail to commend about hollyhocks is that they are abiennial plant . This intend that they will spend their first year developing a strong pat root system and plenteous leafage . And they will only put out a flower stalk and heyday in their second growing season .

Once a plant has flowered and set seeds , this particular plant reaches the end of its life cycle . In some cases , the plant might live for another year or two , but it will not grow ( as many ) flowers .

This means that if you want to have hollyhock in bloom every year , you have to embed some every year . But the one you ’re planting this yr , you ’ll only get to enjoy two summer from now . So when it come to hollyhock , remember to ABP ( Always Be Planting ) .

By the way , I wrote an entire guide on the most common two-year industrial plant andthe difference between biennial , annuals and perennials . Check it out !

An easy way to always have hollyhocks blossom in your garden is to let them ego - seeded player every year . Simply do nothing !

To me, hollyhocks are the quintessential beach town flowers.

Once the source pods are ironic enough , they will pop clear and allow the seeds to fall to the earth . Not all seed will germinate , but enough will turn into new plant . That ’s how hollyhocks give the belief that they ’re perennials .

Because I garden in a small space , I prefer to collect the seeds ( Step 2 above ) and plant them wherever I have some “ dead ” space to fill , such as in the back of my garden or along an alley that unite my attribute to that of my neighbors .

When you imbed althea from seed , remember that they ’ll always grow tall than most of the other ornamental bloom . So place them in the back of borders and garden beds for a staggered effect .

If you ’re plant your hollyhocks in the decline , they ’ll have plenty of time to get in front of the clout and snails once the plants start grow in springtime .

However , if you decide to wait until outpouring to put some seeds in the priming coat , keep in intellect that hollyhocks execute comfortably if they ’ve had a full stop of cold stratification before planting . I ’ve compose an intact guideon six methods you may use to cold - stratify your seedsbefore planting .

4. Cut back your hollyhocks.

If you ’ve gather up plenty of hollyhocks seeds , or still have some from previous years , you do n’t have to have them go to seed . Cutting back your hollyhock as soon as the flower have languish ( but before the seeds have go down ) will give them a neat and tidy look .

Remove all the flower stalking and the old foliage at the bottom that ’s already potential to be yellow and full of holes by this point in the season . Redirecting the vitality from seminal fluid yield to foliage usually translate into healthier - looking and immature leaves .

If you ’re lucky and if your fond time of year extends into the spill , you might get a junior-grade efflorescence around mid- to late September . But do n’t expect this 2d mountain of flowers to be as striking or as numerous as the main bloom of youth . They generally lean to be small and much shorter and there will be fewer blooms on each stalk .

These green seed pods are not yet ready for picking.

5. Pull out your hollyhocks (but only for a good reason)

Depending on the temperature , humidity and world-wide airwave circulation in your garden secret plan , your hollyhock might educate rust in the second part of the summer . Sometimes , rust will just show up as tiny scandalmongering dots on the control surface of the leaves .

In more serious cases , it develops into diminutive protuberances ( unsightly bumps ) covering the entire surface of the foliage in a thing of day . There ’s no effective curative for rust fungus ( stimulate by thePuccinia malvacearumfungus , also know as the althaea rust ) . So the whole plant needs to get along out . This is a thing of undecomposed gardening hygienics and it helps prevent the fungus from migrating to other works in the same family ( Malvaceae ) , such as mallow , hibiscus and abutilon .

If you ’ve describe signs of rust , dig a yap around the root organization – not too panoptic , but just enough to loosen the soil around it – and force out the taproot of the flora . Dispose of the entire plant in your municipal compost bin ( industrial composting usually gets spicy enough to destroy the fungus ) or with household waste .

The dry seed pod (center) is ready for picking.

As a general rule , avoid adding any industrial plant parts that are affect by rust fungus to your home compost organization .

I would strongly advise that you do n’t spray any fungicides on your althea . Due to their large and abundant peak , hollyhocks attract a passel of motley of bees , butterfly and other such pollinators that need the safety of a pesticide - loose plant .

6. Do nothing (for now)!

Ah , my favorite method acting of horticulture . It does n’t work every year ( see the rust scenario above ) , but it is a valid method acting of dealing with althea after efflorescence , especially if you have the outer space .

If your hollyhocks are not in the mode , and if the leave still look green and fresh , then you could continue to enjoy their homely presence until the first frost .

Hollyhock foliage does n’t overwinter very well , so you ’ll have to cut them back to slightly above soil layer after the first frost anyway . This is late enough in the season for first - year althaea to have lay in raft of energy for next year ’s blooms .

It’s hard to believe that such a prolific bloomer is not a perennial.

One thing I would avoid: Transplanting hollyhocks!

I ’m not saying it ’s unacceptable to transfer althea . There are hundreds of tutorials out there on how to do just that . But I ’m saying that transplanting them will not always operate as expected .

As I ’ve cite before , hollyhocks have a rap root structure . This means there ’s only one large radical that go straight down from the root . think a carrot or a Pastinaca sativa growing underground . That ’s what the beginning looks like . This tap root serves as the plant ’s “ spine ” and , depending how recondite down it ’s grow , it ’s often heavy to pull out without damaging it . If you break off this origin during transplant , the fortune of the industrial plant reinstate itself in a newfangled location are significantly diminished .

That being tell , you could take your chances with small , first - year althea . But I ’d only urge doing that if you have backup plants .

Collect and plant some new seeds every year if you want to have hollyhocks in bloom.

My recommendation is to just startle Modern hollyhocks from seeds instead of move the ones you have . Thesecottage gardenfavorites are fast growers and prolific drawers , so you wo n’t have to wait long before savor their magic in the garden .