How to Plant Hollyhock Seeds in Ohio

Hollyhocks are beautiful annuals that will reseed themselves back every year.

Hollyhocks are beautiful flowers that have graced Ohio gardens for centuries. Growing hollyhocks is easy, and once the hollyhocks are established, they will continue to reseed themselves and keep coming back. You can grow single-bloom or double-bloom hollyhocks. The flower shades come in every color of the rainbow. Growing hollyhocks in Ohio requires little care, other than watering and perhaps staking the hollyhock plants if they grow too tall. Hollyhocks grow well in dry to moist soil, but prefer a soil that is well draining, rich and moist.

Things You'll Need

• Garden fork or tiller
• Compost
• Rake
• Hollyhock seed
• Water
• Sprayer nozzle
• All-purpose fertilizer

Instructions

1. Find a sunny location in your garden and prepare the soil. Dig the soil with a garden fork or tiller. Be sure to add lots of compost to the soil and remove any rocks or sticks you find. Using the flat part of your rake, move it back and forth across the soil to make the ground level.

2. Scatter the hollyhock seed over the soil. Try not to puddle the seed in any one area; leave space between each seed.

3. Cover the seed with a fine layer of soil. Do not bury the seeds any deeper than one-fourth of an inch, or they will not germinate.

4. Mist the soil using your sprayer nozzle. Do not use a hard spray, or you will either wash the seeds away or bury them too deep. Remember to keep the soil moist until the seeds germinate. This will take about 12 to 14 days.

5. Water the soil regularly when the hollyhocks are growing. When the flowers fade, you can deadhead the flowers or allow them to release their seeds to the ground so you will have hollyhock flowers next year.

6. Fertilize the hollyhock bed twice during the season with an all-purpose fertilizer. Read the label directions for the amount to use.

Tips & Warnings

• Hollyhocks are susceptible to rust and powdery mildew.

• Water the hollyhocks at ground level, not overhead.

References

• Our Ohio: Why Didn't My Hollyhocks Come Up?
• Planet Natural: Growing Hollyhock
• Dayton Nurseries: Hollyhock