Overview
Hollyhocks (genus Alcea) are striking flowers that can be grown as annuals, biennials or perennials. Hollyhocks grow heart-shaped leaves that clump up into a mound below the flower stalks. Flower types are single, semi-double and double with blossoms 3 to 6 inches wide. The large flowers top strong, tall stalks. Hollyhock varieties are available in white, pink, red, yellow, purple, chocolate, maroon, raspberry and apricot colors.
Hollyhocks bloom in early to midsummer and attract butterflies and hummingbirds with their bright red, white, pink, purple or yellow flowers. Full-size hollyhocks can grow up to 8 feet tall and usually need the structure of a fence or building to provide support.
The showy blossoms on hollyhocks make great cut flowers for bouquets. They add a traditional look to cottage gardens. Use these flowers as border plants, mass plantings and showcase plants. Hollyhocks are visually appealing when placed along a fence or a wall. Hollyhocks are one of the few plants that can grow under black walnut trees. They tolerate the toxin emitted through the roots of the black walnut trees.
Major Types of Hollyhocks
1. Hollyhock Mallow
Hollyhock mallow (Malva alcea) is from another genus than that traditionally referenced for hollyhocks but has leaves that bear a striking resemblance to the Alcea species. This perennial blooms with purple and pink flowers from summer into fall. Hollyhock mallow can reach 4 feet in height with a spread of about 1 foot. The leaves are large at the base of the plant with a shape resembling a heart. Toward the top of the plant, the leaves decrease in size.
2. Fig-leaved Hollyhock
Antwerp Fig Leaf hollyhocks are true perennial hollyhocks, growing 6-7 ft. tall, with large 3-5 in. flowers from May to October. This mix is a rich variety of deep flower colors, including shades of yellow, copper, pink, red, and white. Bloom the first year when started early.
3. Chater’s Double
“Chater’s Double” hollyhock (Alcea rosea “Chater’s Double”) grows best in hardiness zones 3 through 11 in full to partial sun. The green leaves form 18-inch-tall and wide clumps, while the summer flower spikes shoot up to 8 feet tall. The soft ruffled double flowers cover the tall stems with yellow, purple, pink, red, white and apricot colors.
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4. Chater’s Double Icicle
Hollyhock ‘’Chater’s Double Icicle’ or Alcea rosea Chater’s Double white is a vigorous, upright biennial or short-lived perennial with lobed, rounded, rough, mid-green leaves and large, double, white flowers in summer.
5. Spring Celebrities Mixed
This annual hollyhock is short and bushy, and produces frilly blossoms of many different hues. “Spring Celebrities Mixed” can be planted in borders or grown as a container plant. Seeds should be germinated indoors and transplanted outside after the last frost.
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6. Halo Blush
‘Halo Blush’ hollyhock produces tall, sturdy spikes of large, funnel-shaped, white, single flowers, adorned with a bright fuchsia-red halo and yellow throat. Blooming from early to midsummer, the striking flowers are arranged all round the spike and bloom from the bottom up. This variety of hollyhocks is best grown against a wall or fence or at the back of the border.
7. Peaches N Dreams
Peaches N Dreams is a double flowered variety that grows up to 6 feet tall. The plant bears tall flower spikes in peach-cream, some with a hint of pink. This biennial plant blooms in the second year after sprouting. It is ideal for concealing sheds and fences or lining the back of the flowerbed. For best results, grow in moist but well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade.
8. Fiesta Time
This perennial hollyhock is a hardy dwarf variety that flowers quickly in its first year. “Fiesta Time” produces bright pink, double-fringed blossoms that do well when planted in close clusters. Seeds should be germinated indoors and transplanted outside after the last frost.
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9. Blacknight
Alcea rosea ‘blacknight’ is a robust perennial which produces tall, sturdy spikes of funnel-shaped, deep black-purple, single flowers, 4 inch across, with a bright buttery-yellow throat. Blooming from mid to late summer, the striking flowers are arranged all round the spike and bloom from bottom up. This variety of hollyhock is best grown against a wall or fence or at the back of the border.
10. Majorette Mix
This perennial hollyhock is a dwarf variety with double or semi-double flowers ranging from pink to red to white to yellow. Plants grow up to 30 inches high with a spread of 12 inches. “Majorette Mix” is a dwarf particularly well-adapted for container growing.
11. Crème de Cassis
Alcea rosea Crème de Cassis bears huge, semi-double and double, flowers with deep veins. It’s easy to grow and perfect for planting in groups at the back of a sunny border. For best results, grow in moist but well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade.
12. Queeny Purple
This hollyhock can be grown as an annual or a perennial, and is one of the shortest dwarf varieties, often growing no more than 20 inches high. “Queeny Purple” is a compact plant that fits well into borders and small garden beds. This dwarf produces rich purple flowers with frilled edges.
13. Chater’s Double Scarlet
Alcea Chater’s Double Scarlet is a hardy perennial with a tall striking display of fluffy double flowers in shades of red and scarlet. It is perfect for use as a background plant to add color and height to beds and borders. You can add plants that are smaller in height in front of Alcea Chater’s Double Scarlet to hide their bare lower stems. This hollyhock variety makes a stunning display when grown in small groups and is attractive to pollinators.
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14. Russian Yellow Hollyhocks
Believed to have originated from Russian, Russian Hollyhocks (Alcea rugosa)is a vigorous, short-lived, herbaceous perennial with rosettes of large, heart-shaped, rough, grey-green leaves and sturdy, erect stems bearing long racemes of yellow flowers in summer.
15. Turkish Wild Hollyhocks
Turkish wild hollyhocks (Alcea pallid) are a rare hollyhock variety from Turkey which carries a profusion of elegant soft orchid, saucer-shaped flowers from May to September. Plants grow to between 6-7 feet tall. In good growing conditions, the variety can grow to the heights of 10 feet.
16. Miniature Hollyhocks
While the dwarf checker-mallow (Sidalcea malviflora) is sometimes referred to as dwarf checker-mallow hollyhock, this perennial wildflower is in fact a distinct species within the Mallow family. The dwarf checker-mallow produces flowers similar to that of the hollyhock, with showy pink or purple blossoms lining each stalk. As this flower generally grows no more than 24 inches high (and can be as short as 6 inches), it can serve as an attractive alternative to the true hollyhock.
Further References
- Hollyhocks :https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcea
- Growing Hollyhocks: https://www.gardendesign.com/flowers/hollyhocks.html
- Hollyhocks Care: https://www.gardenloversclub.com/ornamental/flowers/hollyhock/growing-hollyhock/
- Hollyhocks Diseases: https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/hollyhock-rust