Hollyhock

Botanical Name:

Alcea sp. commonly A. rosea

General Description/History:

Hollyhocks are important members of the English country garden, and along with foxgloves are often found at the back of herbaceous border plantings. They are very tall plants, up to 3 m, and have broad, rounded and lobed leaves on long stalks running up the thick stem. Numerous single flowers are borne up the stem and open from the base of each plant up. Flowers are large, up to 10 cm in diameter, rounded, cup-shaped, and have 5 petals. Colours can be pink, yellow, red, dark purple, black (almost) or white. The centre of each flower is often a different colour, commonly yellow, and contains prominent stamens and style.

Common Names:

Althea, Hollyhock

Stem Length:

Up to 3m

Country Of Origin:

Southwest and central Asia

Available Colours:

Black, Pink, Purple, Red, White, Yellow

Availability:

What to look for:

• Strong, straight stems

• Stems with a few open flowers and many buds;

• Bunches with unmarked leaves;

• Avoid bunches where all the flowers are open.

Flower Care:

1. Keep cool at all times, but they do not need to be refrigerated.

2. Strip leaves from the bottom half of each stem.

3. Recut at least 2 cm off each stem and place in cold water.

4. Preservative is essential to help buds open.

5. Replace vase water with fresh preservative every day.

Interesting Facts about this Flower:

In the garden, the hollyhock is a biennial (ie flowers every 2 years), but self seeds prolifically, so it often re-appears every year.