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Double-flowered ‘Fiesta Time’ hollyhock befriends a bumblebee.
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Foxglove is another beautiful blooming biennial worth the wait.
Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) are not for fair-weather gardeners. Why? These plants attract pests such as slugs, sawflies, Japanese beetles, spider mites, weevils and leaf miners, while diseases such as rust and powdery mildew can also be problems.
And then, well, hollyhocks just grow weird. The most common varieties are biennials, meaning if they are seeded this growing season, you have to wait until next year for any ocular satisfaction.
While they can sometimes be a challenge, the rewards you reap visually are certainly worth it because, dang it, hollyhocks are plum pretty in full bloom.
For years, I’ve held my own in protecting hollyhocks against many bad bugs with well-timed sprays of pyrethrins or insecticidal soap. And slugs have not been much of a problem when I lace the surrounding ground with iron phosphate-based slug pellets.
Disease-wise, yes, rust is a common hollyhock problem, but resistant cultivars are available to help counter this crud. And powdery mildew (as well as rust) can be discouraged by planting in a sunny, open area to improve airflow through the leaves. I am also quite a plant hawk when it comes to hollyhocks, meaning if I see any distressed leaves, I pluck ’em and chuck ’em to prevent the spread of any foliar nastiness.
So, are you up for the challenge? Since they are biennials, this month into early fall is a good time to start hollyhocks from seed. Prepare a planting site by generously mixing compost or a commercial organic soil conditioner deep into the growing ground. And since they germinate better in bright sunlight, just scatter the small, round seeds and then lightly press them into the ground. In the scorching heat of a waning summer, regular waterings are a must.
When small sprouts appear, pat yourself on the back for being such a good seed starter, and then thin the young plants so they are spaced at least 2 feet apart because standard hollyhocks can easily stretch upward 5 to 7 feet tall and have a spread of about 2 feet wide.
Newbie hollyhocks will spend winter developing strong taproots, and by the new spring, flower towers should arise to support an explosion of single or double blooms that will be butterfly, bee, hummingbird and, yes, even gardener magnets!
August in the garden
• The summer heat is still lingering, but despite the sizzle, this month is a good time to start such cool-season veggies as turnips, radishes, spinach, rutabagas, garden peas, mustard, collards, kale, mustard greens, cauliflower, broccoli, beets, cabbage and carrots.
• If fall webworms are turning your trees into an undesirable state of ugly, for an all-natural way to put the lights out on their parties, use a long pole to rip open their protective tents so efficient predators such as birds and wasps can get in to feast on the beasts.
Tip of the month
Does the idea of growing biennials, such as hollyhocks, from seeds intrigue you? Well, if you have the patience of a fisherman, here are a few more biennials to start this season:
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea). A classic springtime showoff that sports towers of bold, tubular flowers.
Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus). Another spring beauty with dense clusters of bright, often bicolor, blooms.
Money Plant (Lunaria annua). Pleasingly purple flowers give way to thin, round seed pods, which, when peeled, shine like silver dollars.
L.A. Jackson is the former editor of Carolina Gardener magazine. Contact him at lajackson1@gmail.com.