Hollyhocks: Cottage Garden Classics for Tall, Colorful Spikes

These stately Mediterranean natives reach 5 to 9 feet tall, with rough, rounded heart-shaped leaves and 3- to 6-inch-wide single, semidouble, or double flowers that bloom from early to midsummer. A cottage garden favorite from Santa Fe to the Pacific Northwest (zones 1-24), hollyhocks thrive in full sun with regular water.

Types and Varieties

Most hollyhocks are strains of Alcea rosea, considered biennials or short-lived perennials. A notable newcomer is A. ficifolia Antwerp mix, featuring palm-shaped leaves and rust resistance.

Single Blooms

• A. rosea Old Barnyard mix, Country Garden mix, and Single mix: collections of old-fashioned single flowers in maroon, pink, rose, white, and yellow
• A. r. nigra: rich chocolate-maroon flowers

Double Blooms

• A. rosea Chater's Double: perennial strain in single and mixed colors
• 'Peaches 'n' Dreams': creamy pink with raspberry tinges
• Powderpuff: bright mix of maroon, red, white, and yellow
• Summer Carnival mix: blooms first year if started in spring