Hollyhock
Hollyhock: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
Hollyhock, Alcea rosea, belongs to the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is an herbaceous plant generally behaving as a biennial or short-lived perennial. Many forms first develop a leafy rosette, then produce a tall flowering stem during the following season. Some selections develop faster, and conditions also influence the cycle. Its individual lifespan is therefore different from the continued presence of a group renewed by seedlings.The outline is strongly vertical. Tall forms often reach two metres or more, with a main stem that branches relatively little. The alternately arranged leaves are broad and rounded, divided into lobes and marked by veins. Their surface looks slightly puckered and their underside is hairy. Leaves generally become smaller towards the top of the stem, making the sequence of flowers easier to see.The flowers open as broad cups or funnels along a long upright raceme. Single forms show five petals around a central column characteristic…
