Hollyhock Chater's Double Mix

A classic cottage Hollyhock
Blooms from mid-summer through to autumn
Bees, butterflies and hummingbirds love hollyhocks
50 seeds per pack

€3,90

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FAST FACTS

Botanical name: Alcea rosea

Common name: Hollyhock

Article number: 01700-12

Days to germinate: 14-21 days

Days to maturity: Around 18–21 months after sowing your seeds, hollyhocks will reach full size and reward you with tall, striking spikes of blooms

Hardiness and longevity: Biennial (sometimes short-lived perennial, self-seeds readily)

Height: Up to 180cm

Spread: Up to 60cm

Sunlight: Full sun

DESCRIPTION

Hollyhock Chater's Double Mix Alcea Rosea is a hardy biennial flowering plant. Hollyhock Chater's Double Mix seeds can be started directly outdoors or indoors and in pots in a cold frame. Hollyhock Chater's Double Mix variety produces fully-double scarlet, pink, white, purple, eggplant and yellow flowers that are 7-12cm across and densely clustered together on the sturdy flower spikes. Hollyhock flowers grow on rigid, towering spikes or spires which typically reach a height of 1.5-2m tall, and the foliage features large, heart-shaped, rough lower leaves which become progressively smaller toward the top of the spire. Alcea Rosea are base branching and bloom from May to October attracting hummingbirds and butterflies.

Hollyhock Chater's Double Mix is an old time favourite for cottage, wildflower, wildlife gardens, and flower beds. Hollyhock's fully-double flowers are perfect for the back of borders and along fences and walls. Alcea Rosea seeds can be planted in August or September for bloom the following year, and the established Hollyhock grows in average, medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun, tolerating a wide range of soil conditions and some light shade. If grown from seed, the although short-lived, Hollyhocks easily self-seed, and they can establish colonies that persist for years as if they were perennials.

Order your top quality Hollyhock Chater's Double Mix Seeds with Fontana Seeds Today!

Sow February to March or September to October. Sow seeds onto the surface of a good, free-draining, damp, seed compost. Cover with a very fine sprinkling of compost or vermiculite. Place in a propagator or seal container inside a polythene bag at a temperature of 15-20C until after germination which usually takes 14-21 days. Do not exclude light as this helps germination. Alternatively, sow in late summer in a cool greenhouse and then overwinter plants in cool, well lit conditions. Plant out the following spring. This method produces larger plants and is recommended if the soil is heavy or badly drained.

Transplant seedlings when large enough to handle into trays or 7.5cm pots. Gradually acclimatise plants to cooler conditions for a few weeks before planting out after all risk of frost, 45cm apart.

Rust remedies
Hollyhocks are archetypal cottage garden plants (you often see them growing beautifully in churchyards). The cleaner, sulphur-free air that we all now enjoy, however, means that fungus on roses and hollyhocks is more common. Both plants need tinkering to be at their best.

Rust fungus forms little pustules on the underside of hollyhock basal leaves and often spreads from there up the stem. If you want to grow your hollyhocks right by a path, they need to look vigorous and healthy. The only way to guarantee this is to use fungicides. If Bordeaux mixture, a traditional copper sulphate-derived remedy, is not enough to hold rust at bay, you may need to use stronger fungicides.

If this all feels far too much like chemical warfare, ignore any rust problems and hide the foliage of your hollyhocks by putting them nearer the back of the border.

Make more plants
Hollyhocks self-sow, so once you have introduced them they should spring up of their own volition, but they will creep to the sunny, open front of the bed. Watch out for this and dig some up and put them further back out of the limelight to get a balanced sweep. Don't transfer them directly, though – they need a short spell of TLC.

Dig up self-sown seedlings and pot them into a 7cm pot. Once the roots have filled it, move them on into a slim, deep pot to accommodate the tap root.

Read more frequently asked questions about growing Hollyhock seeds

GROWING INSTRUCTIONS

Sow February to March or September to October. Sow seeds onto the surface of a good, free-draining, damp, seed compost. Cover with a very fine sprinkling of compost or vermiculite. Place in a propagator or seal container inside a polythene bag at a temperature of 15-20C until after germination which usually takes 14-21 days. Do not exclude light as this helps germination. Alternatively, sow in late summer in a cool greenhouse and then overwinter plants in cool, well lit conditions. Plant out the following spring. This method produces larger plants and is recommended if the soil is heavy or badly drained.

Transplant seedlings when large enough to handle into trays or 7.5cm pots. Gradually acclimatise plants to cooler conditions for a few weeks before planting out after all risk of frost, 45cm apart.

Rust remedies
Hollyhocks are archetypal cottage garden plants (you often see them growing beautifully in churchyards). The cleaner, sulphur-free air that we all now enjoy, however, means that fungus on roses and hollyhocks is more common. Both plants need tinkering to be at their best.

Rust fungus forms little pustules on the underside of hollyhock basal leaves and often spreads from there up the stem. If you want to grow your hollyhocks right by a path, they need to look vigorous and healthy. The only way to guarantee this is to use fungicides. If Bordeaux mixture, a traditional copper sulphate-derived remedy, is not enough to hold rust at bay, you may need to use stronger fungicides.

If this all feels far too much like chemical warfare, ignore any rust problems and hide the foliage of your hollyhocks by putting them nearer the back of the border.

Make more plants
Hollyhocks self-sow, so once you have introduced them they should spring up of their own volition, but they will creep to the sunny, open front of the bed. Watch out for this and dig some up and put them further back out of the limelight to get a balanced sweep. Don't transfer them directly, though – they need a short spell of TLC.

Dig up self-sown seedlings and pot them into a 7cm pot. Once the roots have filled it, move them on into a slim, deep pot to accommodate the tap root.

Read more frequently asked questions about growing Hollyhock seeds

SHIPPING & DELIVERY

We keep it simple: shipping is a flat-rate €3.75 to any address in the European Union. Orders are packed on the sunny island of Cyprus and handed to the carrier within 1–3 working days. We ship by regular mail with delivery confirmation. As soon as your parcel leaves us, you’ll receive an email with a tracking link so you can follow it in real time. Typical delivery time is 5–15 business days, depending on destination and your local mail service. We currently ship within the EU only.