This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re[2]: questions regarding hollyhocks and phlox

     I only have single hollyhocks, but I have no trouble getting new ones 
     from seed, except the blacks.  Actually, my yard is turning into a 
     hollyhock jungle!  They do cross pollinate quite freely.  I started 
     with white and black, and now have white and all shades of pink to 
     red, as well as mixed red/pinks.  They are all going to seed now, so I 
     think this would be a great time to plant - I mean, the plant 
     apparently thinks so!  When I first planted them, they didn't bloom 
     the first year.  The ones I have now, all babies of the original 
     plants, did in fact bloom the first year (I understand they're 
     biennials, so have no idea why this happens).  I have poor soil of 
     heavy clay, with dry summers and (so far!) extremely wet winters.  
     Apparently the hollyhocks love this.  I understand they do like poor 
     soil.  Slugs and snails were a real problem the first year, with only 
     a few plants, but now there's plenty for everybody.  I also had rust 
     and flea beetles, but I ignored them and they've pretty much gone 
     away.  I don't actually plant them now; the seeds just fall everywhere 
     and grow.
     
     I have been entirely unable to grow delphiniums because they are so 
     attractive to slugs and snails.  By baiting a couple times a day, I 
     got one plant to live awhile, but I just can't live like that!  (Yes, 
     yes, I've tried beer, flashlight hunts, plastic bags, etc.)  I now 
     have a box turtle from a wildlife rescue organization, and I hope he 
     is going to help me.  Of course, I can't bait with him around.
     
     Avril, Hercules, CA, USDA 9; Sunset 15


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: questions regarding hollyhocks and phlox
Author:  perennials@mallorn.com at Internet
Date:    10/2/97 12:53 PM


To all of you wonderful gardeners!
     
Will you please give us your zone (USDA/Sunset) and any additional hints 
about your climatic conditions, so that we can interpret (if possible) 
how your input would apply to us in our conditions.  I live in Northern 
California and have no idea how much of anything applies to my 
conditions here.  And yes, I want to grow hollyhocks and delphinium, but 
don't know how?  What you write is very helpful in general, but we the 
average gardeners need to know where you are (and then how to apply this 
information.)  Thank you so very much!
     
Alex
     
lowery@teamzeon.com wrote:
     
> The only thing I can figure with the hollyhocks is since most are
> biennials, the first year they did just what they were supposed to do: 
>
> leaf out only.  If you grew them from seed sown in the ground, I can 
> only
> guess that some of those sprouted the second year that didn't sprout 
> the
> first.  It also depends on the seed.  If you got those from someone's 
> garden, they may not be as reliable as those from a professional due 
> to the
> hybrid nature (in my humble experience only, as I coveted a friend's 
> double
> maroon ones and the darn things never did grow right for me).  My 
> double
> hollyhocks do not self-seed reliably to my yearly frustration.  I have 
>
> helped them along by taking seed pods and sowing them as they dried. 
> Even
> still, I only got two sorry looking plants the next year that didn't 
> bloom
> and subsequently died never to be seen again.  The single hollyhocks 
> will
> come back if I do the same for them.  You go figure.  Thusly, I buy 
> the
> double hollyhock seed every other year. 
>
> I've never tried to grow them from seed this late in the year, 
> however.
> The ones I sow in the ground from the plants overwinter in a dormant 
> state
> and come up the following year just to leaf out.  I've started them 
> inside
> under lights in March and these will sometimes bloom the first year. 
> Speaking of which, I cut mine back last month and two plants have
> budded up
> again.  This hasn't happened before -- is this a normal thing or am I 
> to
> consider myself just lucky??
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
> message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
     
     
     
--
Alex Teller
109 Fernwood Drive
Moraga, CA 94556-2315
E-mail: alextell@pacbell.net
     
     
--------------------------------------------------------------------- 
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the 
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
Follow-Ups:
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index