The tall and upright hollyhock flowers, with their variety of colours, can jazz up the walls in gardens and yards, especially when grown in rows. The decorative, cup-shaped hollyhocks on a long stem are also used as a cut flower. With its wide array of colours — including white, red, pink, purple and yellow — the hollyhock is an integral part of a bouquet and vase.

Scientifically known as Alcea rosea, the garden hollyhocks belong to the Malvaceae family. There are a number of stories and myths related to how the flower got its unique name.

One story goes that those returning from the Crusades in the 11th and 12th centuries brought back the hollyhock seeds to Europe. They also changed the flower’s name from ‘hoc’ (hoc means mallow in Anglo-Saxon, which also belongs to the Malvaceae family) by adding ‘holy’ before it to give it its current name.

According to another story, a herbalist from the 15th century named the flower Holyoke, which later evolved into hollyhocks. These two stories are seemingly the most authentic and believable ones.

The tall and colourful hollyhock will brighten up your garden, but the flower can take up to two years to be ready

At the same time, it was also believed that the medical concoction made with the flowers were applied by crusaders on the ankles of horses (known as hocks) to heal. Since, it was supposed to be for a holy cause, hence the name hollyhocks.

Historically, hollyhocks were also known as ‘outhouse flowers’, as they were especially grown and planted outside the doors. This was based on the belief that the plant would ward off evil spirits and stop them from entering the home.

Before growing a beautiful hollyhock plant, it is of utmost importance to understand its unique life cycle. The plant does not produce flowers in three months, six months or even annually. The plant, instead, starts blooming after almost two growing seasons, which makes it a biennial or a short-lived perennial. Hence, there is no need to get disheartened after just one year of growing it and not finding any of its promised flower-laden stems. Be patient, as good things come with time.

The seeds of the hollyhocks are brown to black in colour, with a lighter-coloured border. They are shaped somewhat similar to inflated disks and very light in weight. Hollyhock seeds are relatively larger in size as compared to most other common seasonal flowering plant seeds, such as pansy, petunia, carnation or antirrhinum.

The seeds of hollyhocks are usually sown at a depth of around one centimetre below the surface. One way to go about it is to place the seeds on the surface of an already watered, yet properly drained, potting mix and sprinkle it up with a fine layer of compost. This will definitely do the trick and is my preferred method as well.

Nursery soil, also known to many as bhaal matti or bhaalu matti, can be the best fit to be used as a potting mix to germinate hollyhock seeds. Just make sure that the potting mix is cleared of any pebbles and stones. One may sow the seeds directly in the open ground or pot, but the more preferred and recommended technique is to germinate it in the seedling tray and then transplant it once it grows as a seedling.

Many gardeners believe that adopting the latter technique ensures better hollyhock plant growth. It is also advisable to expose the seedling tray to bright light and sprinkle the soil surface with a little water to ensure it doesn’t dry up.

The ideal temperature range for sowing hollyhock seeds would be from 18 to 23 degrees Celsius. In Karachi and those areas falling in cold hardiness zones 10 and 11, the best time to sow the seeds would be in mid-October, when summer is decreasing gradually.

This time around, however, Karachi experienced a relatively hot October going into November. In such a scenario, the germination of seeds might eat up more time than anticipated. Usually, in favourable conditions, temperature and better-quality seeds of the hollyhock can germinate within 10 days to two weeks.

The next column will delve into the growing, maturing and blooming phases of the hollyhocks, with details on the required feed, how to protect them from the pests at different stages of their life cycle and relevant tidbits of using this multi-dimensional flower.

Please send your queries and emails to doctree101@hotmail.com. The writer is a physician and a host for the YouTube channel ‘DocTree Gardening’ promoting organic kitchen gardening

Published in Dawn, EOS, January 5th, 2025