How to Propagate Hollyhock Seed
Add a striking flower to your garden that draws the eye in and up by planting old-fashioned hollyhocks. These plants send up stalks between 3 and 6 feet tall. Large, bell-shaped flowers grow along the length of the stalks during the summer months. Hollyhocks are a biennial plant, germinating from seed in the first year and flowering the second. Propagating from seed yearly ensures there are plants ready to flower every summer. The hollyhock plant doesn't require two full seasons to flower, but is sown in late summer the first year so it is ready to flower in early summer the next. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Plant the seeds in a bed that receives six to eight hours of full sun during the summer months. Choose a location with rich soil that remains moist without becoming soggy or muddy.
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Sow the hollyhock seeds on top of the soil in late summer. Space the seeds 8 inches apart in all directions. Cover the seeds with 1/4 inch of soil.
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Mist the garden bed with water daily so the top 4 to 6 inches remains moist. Avoid overwatering that causes puddles to stand on the soil surface, as this results in rotting seed.
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Thin the hollyhocks after the seeds germinate and the plants produce their third set of leaves. Pluck out the extra seedlings so the remaining plants are spaced 14 to 18 inches apart.
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Water the young plants weekly so the top 6 inches of soil remains moist. Stop watering in late fall as the plants enter dormancy and resume watering in spring when growth resumes.
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Mulch around the plants in fall before the ground freezes with a 2- to 4-inch layer of mulch. The mulch protects the roots of the hollyhocks from freeze damage.
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Tips & Warnings
Collect seeds from your existing hollyhocks as they ripen in late summer. Plant them in the garden immediately after harvesting for the best germination rates.
References
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