Monet’s Hollyhocks

Howick Historical Village’s Hollyhock Seeds

These Hollyhock seeds are straight out of our gardens, and they can be a bit of a showstopper. Around here they also don’t require a lot of attention and are very resilient (drought tolerant and thrive in most soils). Hollyhocks are also a favorite of the bumblebees and other pollinators. So, what’s not to love?

 

How to care for Hollyhocks

Sow your seed in the spring on the surface of some seed raising mix and make sure you keep them warm and moist (don’t saturate your seed trays!). They should pop up quite easily over the course of 2 weeks. Hollyhocks are short lived perennials or biennials so they may not flower in the first year. They will die back in the winter, springing back out in the springtime and flowering in the second year. So don’t be alarmed if they disappear for a bit. Hollyhocks also seed prolifically so collecting seed from one flower spike should keep you supplied hollyhocks for 2 or 3 years afterwards. But do be wary as they will self-seed your whole garden if you don’t cut the flower spikes before they go to seed.

 

Heirloom Plants

Many plants and flowers we have at the Howick Historical Village are what we call 'heirloom' plants. The definition of an heirloom plant is an open pollinated variety of plant that has been around since before the 1950’s. The benefit of planting heirloom perennials and annuals is five-fold.

  • Flowers and nectar attract pollinators and beneficial animals into your garden.

  • You are helping to sustain the plants that have been grown by ancestors.

  • Heirloom plants produce seeds that have the same sort of characteristics as their parents (hybrids will not). This means you can collect them and use them year after year.

  • Saving seed from your most successful plants or letting the plants self-seed also gives you the benefit of creating a more resilient and reliable plant for your local conditions. Something you probably won’t get from nursery plants that are produced and cared for in controlled conditions.

  • At the larger scale the greater the amount of diversity in the plant gene-pool the more resilient it will be to changes in the weather or other abrupt changes.