Botanic Garden >> Gardening > >> Houseplants >> Plants for Details >> Other

Hollyhock (Alcea rosea): Tall, Classic Cottage Garden Biennial with Colorful Spikes

Alcea rosea

Overview

Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) is a tall (6-10 feet), upright biennial or short-lived perennial with single flowers of various colors along a spike. Blooms early to midsummer. Self-seeds. Rust, leaf spots, and pests common.

Botanical Details

Genus: Alcea
Species: rosea
Synonyms: Althaea rosea

Culture & Uses

Full sun, average to dry soil. Sow timing varies (annual, biennial, perennial). Use in cottage gardens, borders, containers. Cut flower. Self-seeds. Height 6-10 feet.

Other: Growing Lobelia in Containers: Sun, Shade, Water, and Feeding Guide; Hollyhock (Alcea rosea): Tall, Classic Cottage Garden Biennial with Colorful Spikes; Dwarf Purple Hollyhock 'Spring Celebrities Purple' (Alcea rosea annua 'Spring Celebrities Purple'): Compact, First-Year Blooming Hollyhock; Stars of Persia (Allium christophii): Huge, Metallic Fuchsia Spheres for Early Summer; Coreopsis rosea 'Mercury Rising' – Velvety Red Coreopsis; Coreopsis rosea 'Sweet Dreams' – Bicolor White and Raspberry Tickseed; Growing Swiss Chard: Colorful Greens for Summer and Beyond; Growing Lettuce: Diverse Salad Greens for Cool Seasons; Hollyhock (Alcea rosea): Old-Fashioned Towers of Summer Color; Growing Summer Squash: Varieties, Planting, and Harvest Tips

Garden Articles

Drumstick Allium (Allium sphaerocephalon): Color-Changing Blooms for the Summer Garden

Angelonia (Angelonia angustifolia): Heat-Loving Summer Bloomer for Containers

Golden Marguerite (Anthemis tinctoria): Long-Blooming Daisy-Like Flowers

Marguerite Daisy (Argyranthemum frutescens): Continuous Blooms for Containers

Figwort (Asarina scandens): Half-Hardy Climber with Indigo to White Flowers

Heath Aster (Aster ericoides): Native Clumping Perennial with Small White Flowers

Bigleaf Aster (Aster macrophyllus): Heart-Shaped Leaves Turning Mauve in Autumn

Plants

Tickseed Sunflower (Bidens aristosa): Late-Summer Gold for Meadows

False Chamomile (Boltonia asteroides): Late-Summer Clouds of White and Pink

Borage (Borago officinalis): Edible Blue Flowers for Herb Gardens

Brugmansia suaveolens: The Classic White Angel's Trumpet

Calendula officinalis: Edible Pot Marigold for Summer Color

Callicarpa dichotoma: Purple Beautyberry with Arching Form

Campanula 'Elizabeth': Pale Pink Bells with Dark Speckles