I have to confess that I stole some seeds from a bussiness downtown. I am a seed-stealer. Its true.

It has the most wonderful hollyhocks every year. Heirloom yellow. Very old fassioned and very healthy. I have never seen nicer ones ever.

Well I stole some seeds last year and they did not come up. I stole some more this winter --still a few to be found in the pods -- and only a few came up and they did not grow very much. One little leaf and it looked sick and tired already. Thats it.

So I cut the top of a coke bottle off and duct-taped it to the small pot I had and the seedlings took off like rockets! My makeshift greenhouse really did the trick.

Which is good because the owner of the property cut down the stalks of their hollyhocks no more seeds to steal!

-- Just thought I would share. Hollyhocks like it hot and steamy.

I am hoping to give these things a good enough year so that they bloom for me this year rather than waiting till next. Maybe I will fassion a bigger greenhouse for the plant when I plant it outside.

I have had the same black hollyhock for 3 or 4 years now. I bought it as a live plant in its 2nd year. I thought they were supposed to live two years and die.

-- not that I am unhappy that it hasn't died mind you but I thought these things had a limited lifespan.

Yet it comes back every year. Bigger each time.

I cut off the seed pods before they develop to produce more. So its not an offspring.

This year I will let it go to seed along with the yellow one.

Hey I just thought of something else. Say I have my black and yellow hollyhocks side by side and their is cross pollination. What will the offspring look like I wonder?

hummm.......