FLOWER SEEDS

Here's another very easy flower to grow, and so beautiful.  I just took a hand full and tossed them where I wanted them. I have several colors and sizes. I'm planting some more BUT a lot of different colors. I'm hooked! The others really took off! So much fun watching to see what size or color you'll get. But I do have some separated so you'll know what you're getting, then I do have a multi color pkg! Surprize!

These are erect, attractive single/double, short/tall flower. They can get up to 5-6ft tall. The dwarfs get to about 3-4ft tall. Cut back in autumn. Plant in early spring, blooms early summer to late summer. Takes 14-21 days to germination and takes 365 days to bloom, BUT like I said my bloomed right after I planted them so just to let you know you might be surprised! Plant spacing 14 in apart. Not like me I just tossed them, still worked.

Can be planted in fall for bloom the following summer. I've checked on this and it can be done I just havn't tried it. But I'm going to this year so I'll be in the know for sure. I'm the kind of person you has to try things out before telling other people to do the same.

Excellent for backgrounds, screens and tall accent groups. Highlights a front foor or garden entry with their presence.

They need full sun and fertile soil will do nicely for this plant. Even though my soil is a little on the sandy side and they still did fine. But may have trouble with clay soils and overwintering if those soils are wet during  the winter.

Some are big gracious up to 4inch double or semi double blooms in many colors. They are a long blooming very colorful flower. Tall or drawf it is stately and it'll bloom all summer for a rich display of big power puff bloosoms in serveral shades of pink, red, white, yellow and more! Some dwarfs too which are just as beautiful.

The large blooms are highly hued, and do not fade in the summer sun. Great for cutting. They open from the bottom of the stalk upwards, keeping you in fresh blooms for weeks on end.

As biennials, they will not usually flower the first year from seed. They need to grow that first year, survive the winter and then send up those huge flower stalks the second year. Unfortunately, the mother plants then dies after flowering is finished. I have seen some plants defy this rule and bloom for several years in a row. In fact I planted a bunch of seeds this year and they almost all bloomed! So be it bieannials or annuals they'll come up when they are good and ready.

Just don't be disappointed if you don't get any the first year , they'll come!

So, if you want to start your own colony, a package spread on the soil and lightly covered (1/8inch deep) and kept damp until germination occurs will quickly colonize your garden.

This is a single bloom.

If you choose to save the seeds of your Hollyhock plant you really could star a nice backdrop or share with your friends. I love getting more every year!

Make sure you wait till the flower drops off and it'll leave a big round pod. Wait till it turns a light yellow or golden brown color and gets kind of crispy and cut it off with scissors. Do not pull off, you'll have seeds every where! Sometimes the pod will start to open thats the best time to catch it. They are about the size of a quarter. Do not pick ones that look a little bit green, they are not ready yet. While many seeds are dark in the center, and some black, there are some varieties which have lighter seeds, but make sure they are mature and dry before harvesting them. 

It is a wise idea to put a masking tape strip around the bottom of the main stalk to identify which color of hollyhock you are growing as soon as the blooms reveal themselves you will find yourself unsure which is which.

DO NOT GATHER pods or seeds in a ziploc bag! They will sweat, mold and do hideous things!!

Gently peel open part of the flap that covers the seed ring. If the seeds are not dry and blackish, don't pick that pod. White seeds are not ready! If the seeds appear blackish and dry, the best way I have found to harvest is to put them into little trays or cups (be sure to label them and keep them organized so you will know what colors you have) Shuffle them around every day so that they dry evenly. If you don't care about which is which you don't have to label and just plant and be surprized every year!

After the seed pods have dried and you find yourself with six ft tall empty stalks, simply cut the stalks to the ground. Don't panic. Just cut off the dead stuff.You may leave a little sticking out if it makes you feel better, but your plant ask this of you only to keep them neat and tidy. It's not growing requirment. I preper to cut only dried stalk sections, allowing the seed pods to fully mature on the stalk before removing them.

As your hocks die back in the gawd-awful heat of summer, try to keep the dried up leaves cut off and removed from the plant stalk as well as those on the ground. Keeping the dead foliage picked up will help tp keep rust and other diseases at bay a little longer. Making sure to use scissors instead of yanking off leaves, may cause more injury to plant if infected. Also, don't put the leaves into your compost pile, as they may contain spores which will continue to live on. Bag'em up and kick them to the curb!

If you have snipped off all of the seed pods from the limb, there is no need to keep it on the plant unless it has nice foliage, but chances are at this point the limb is just a stick. Cut this from plant so as not to waste energy which could be transferred to the root system or other vital branches. You can leave a little stalk at the base to remember where your plant is. Still green? Don't be concerned.