Our Favorite Hollyhocks

Hollyhocks are perennials, biennials or annuals depending on your climate and the species. In USDA zones 9 and 10 they are perennials or biennials. In zones 3 to 8 they may live over the following winter and bloom again if you cut the faded flower stalks off at the base but this is never certain and considered annuals.

Once established in a garden, hollyhocks often self-sow, forming a colony of plants themselves. The seedlings transplant well. These seedlings are easy to transplant on a cool day to avoid excessive heat-wilting.

Feel free to grow hollyhocks under Black Walnut trees; they are tolerant of the toxic juglone that is emitted through the trees' roots.

For more flower stalks, pinch out the growing tips once or twice early in the growing season. This gives shorter plants with more branches.

In zones 6 and below, mulch your plants during the winter. Dormant terminal buds are sometimes injured by freezing so a protective mulch of straw, hay or leaves will help keep them warm.

In wet winter areas, the dormant terminal buds are sometimes injured by rotting. A well-drained place is the key to this problem. Double flowered types may need staking as they fall over after a rain because the flowers will hold a large amount of water. If you live in an area with summer rains, be sure to stake your double hollyhocks well.


JB258 Hollyhocks Summer Carnival Mix ( Alcea rosea )
AAS Winner 1972. A wonderful mix of fully double peony shaped flowers in crimson, pink, red, yellow, white, and rose, will flower 4 months from sowing. An annual Summer Carnival Hollyhock is a long-blooming, very colorful series so garden-worthy that it received an AAS Award. Tall and stately, it blooms all summer for a rich display of big powderpuff blossoms in every shade of pink, rose, red, and yellow.
The 4-inch blooms are richly hued, and will not fade in the summer sun. Superb for cutting, they open from the bottom of the stalk upwards, keeping you in fresh blooms for weeks on end. And this stunning series sets its blooms even lower on the stalk than most hollyhocks, for a little more color on every stalk.
Color: Blooms of deep crimson, rose-red, rose, light pink, yellow and white   Zone: 4-9   Spacing: Variable   Height: 3-5 feet   Start Seeds: Anytime of year inside, for transplanting outside in Spring.
 380mg ( about 35-40 seeds ) $3.95
VOS009 Queeny Mix Hollyhock ( Alcea rosea )
In a lovely mix of lilac rose, red, white, rose, yellow, purple, and salmon this Dwarf Queeny Hollyhock flower seed mix is a unique Hollyhock both for its low growing nature (topping out at 24 to 36") and for its early flowering, perennial growing habits. Its fully double blooms with frilly edges and powderpuff centers in a variety of lush colors make it a focal point of any flower garden or container plant. Compact enough to grow in a pot or container, this dwarf hollyhock doesn't give up a thing when it comes to bloom size!
Plant this dwarf hollyhock in a Cottage Garden or as a perennial container plant. They have an impressive effect when planted in a mass planting. Hummingbirds, butterflies and bees are attracted to the flowers and deer tend to stay away from Hollyhocks. It has no real change in fall color and it will die back for the winter.
A perennial for zones 4-9.
  100 seeds $9.95
LET748 Queeny Purple Hollyhock ( Alcea rosea )
2004 AAS Flower Winner. Queeny Purple is the shortest Alcea rosea and the first purple hollyhock available as a single color not part of a mixture. These unique traits combined with season-long flower color resulted in Queeny Purple winning an AAS Award. The frilly edged blooms are a "powder puff" type having a cushion center.
They measure 3 to 4 inches and are produced abundantly on the compact branching plants. Queeny Purple plants will reach a mature height of 20 to 30 inches, perfect for smaller space gardens. Queeny Purple is an annual that will flower prolifically the first year from a February or March sowing. A pollinator favorite, it is best planted in multiples to encourage reseeding, perfect growing along a wall or fence to create a summery cottage garden feel.
  185mg pack ( about 25 seeds ) $3.95
LET752 Halo Mix ( Alcea rosea )
Large 5 inch single blooms highlighted with broad contrasting darker centers. Spikes fill from top to bottom. Great for landscaping as well as a cutflower. This tall variety grows to almost 6 feet tall! The Halo hollyhock mixture is perfect for planting in the back of the garden and creates a spectacular backdrop of color or a blooming screen for privacy or to hide unsightly views in the garden. Single blooms delight in the late summer until fall, flowering in a variety of white, yellow, red, and purple, with contrasting eyes. Plants are typically perennial, but they’re often grown as biennials. Halo hollyhocks are one of the highest performing, showiest hollyhocks you can grow.
A perennial for zones 3-9. Grows about 72 inches tall.
  10 seeds $3.95
IP197 Black as Night ( Alcea nigra )
Jet Black single, foreboding, wonderful contrast in sunny border, grows 48" tall.
  Package of 10 seeds $2.95
2763 Pure White Hollyhock ( Alcea chater )
Pure white 3 to 5" double flowers on tall stems on plants growing 72" tall, hardy to zone 4.
  15 Seed Package $2.95
3741 Fiesta Time ( Alcea rosea )
Growing only 32-36" tall, this compact hollyhock selection is terrific for smaller gardens where the taller types might grow too big.
The frilly double flowers are cerise-pink in colour with fringed tips of a soft rose tone. Will flower the first year, so may be treated as an annual or short-lived perennial. Excellent in mixed tubs and containers.
  Package of 10 seeds $2.95
2764 Chamois Rose Hollyhock ( Alcea chater )
Very unique flowers on tall stems on plants growing 72" tall, hardy to zone 4.
  15 Seed Package $2.95
2767 Powderpuffs Mix ( Alcea rosea )
Huge double 5" flowers, largest of the Hollyhocks, in pastel colors. Grows 60" tall, hardy to zone 3.
  Package of 15 seeds $2.95