Re: Hollyhocks

In a message dated 1/8/03 2:08:40 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
mygarden@easystreet.com writes:


> 
> Does anyone have any suggestions for rust on Hollyhocks, Malva &
> Snapdragons?  I love all of these - they are so cottage garden wonderful.
> But the rust is a real ugly turn off.  Other areas of the US, with much
> higher humidity than the PNW, grow beautiful hollyhocks without rust.   
> And,
> there is nothing prettier for cut flowers than Snapdragons in MHO until the
> rust arrives.

Have you tried the species Alcea ficifolia and A. pallida.   Both are less 
susceptible to rust although one summer a few years ago in a period endless 
rain and high temperatures both showed some rust   Usually they do not.  They 
are pale yellow with some pastel shades getting in there somehow.

A. pallida is the one with a main stem and very large single flowers.  A. 
ficifolia has smaller yellow flowers but the stem branches a lot giving a 
long season of bloom.  Ficifolia seeds around on it's own, you need to 
collect the seed from pallida and make sure it gets a start in a marked area. 
 A. ficifolia, as the name suggests, has fig shaped leaves at the tops of the 
stems.  The handsome fig shaped leaves appear the second year if you do not 
see them the first year.  A. ficifolia is nearly indestructible, occasionally 
growing through the lilacs here.  A. pallida is a bit more trouble here but 
more beautiful.  Ficifolia can grow to eight feet tall and if it is inclined 
to do so, will need a stake or can be grown through a shrub.

Other hollyhocks grow in my garden though they are self seeded and I never 
know what they will be until bloom time.  If they have any rust, they are 
pulled out and discarded on the burn pile.  If you have soil inoculated with 
a plant rust, the flyers from Extension on rusts state that the soil will 
remain infected nearly forever.  A rust resistant species needs to be found. 

I don't see rust on hollyhocks every year but it is very much present in our 
area.  Air movement around the plants is supposed to help.  The two species 
are much stronger than the hybrids and do well in dry soil.  

I have never seen any rust on a snapdragon though I have had some live over 
for two years.   That would be the tall ones.  The tall straight spikes bloom 
late here, sometimes barely bloom at all as they get ready when the days are 
short.  The short pudgy hybrids bloom from the flats purchased, then they sit 
around a while and get going again in late summer.  I don't know rust on 
these plants, very healthy strong green foliage as a rule.  

You guys in PNW have that rose rust, also in California I believe.  We do not 
have rust on roses here though Coop Extension says it is quite possible. I 
have never seen any.  That being said do not feel bad, we have all the other 
rose diseases and plants can defoliate entirely by midsummer from blackspot 
diseases.  Roses are always a crapshoot or a full season spray schedule.  
Gallica roses are the most healthy here, they never defoliate and are not 
much attacked by JB's.  I don't know why they are not more popular.  We have 
a lot of them which sucker into big patches and need virtually no care.

Claire Peplowski
NYS z4

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