How to save hollyhock seeds
Once you are growing them, saving hollyhock (Alcea spp. and hybrids) seeds is a good way to get more plants, though flower colors and shapes may vary. This is just what hollyhock seeds should look like when you harvest them. Store the seeds or the whole stem in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight until you’re ready to plant — hollyhock seeds stay viable for several years.
How to grow hollyhock from seeds
You can buy plants ready to bloom at the garden center for instant gratification or save yourself some cash and grow hollyhocks from seed. Direct-sow hollyhock seeds outdoors or start them indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last average frost date. These seeds need light to germinate, so just barely cover them with soil or mix. You should see seedlings in 10 to 14 days when temperatures are 60 to 70 degrees F.
Tips for starting hollyhock seeds from the experts
To get some advice on growing gorgeous hollyhocks, I talked with a couple of experts to see what they do.
Sow hollyhock seeds multiple years in a row
Marilyn Barlow, owner of Select Seeds in zone 5 Connecticut, ensures that she has plenty of flowers in her garden by sowing seeds two years in a row.
- Year one, Marilyn plants in spring and expects just foliage.
- The second spring, she plants again and enjoys summer blooms from the previous season’s planting.
- In year three, the second year’s sowing blooms, and the ones that reseeded from the first year’s crop produce foliage. The cycle repeats year after year.
Try direct-sowing hollyhock seeds in summer
In Santa Rosa, California, Don McCulley, owner of Swallowtail Garden Seeds, has a different approach. He finds that he gets lots of blooming stems on beefier plants by direct-sowing seeds in late summer. The mild winter climate there gives plants an early start. The flush of fall foliage gathers lots of energy, so plants bloom the following summer. The flowers last so long that there’s rarely a need to deadhead. With easy-care blooms like this, you can see why hollyhocks have been a gardener favorite for generations.
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