I use peonie rings on my Shasta daisies.

The ground hog always eats my hollyhocks so I have never needed to stake them.

I hate to stake and I'm not good at it either. The poor flowers always look like I've imprisoned them with awkwardly places stakes and too much string/wire. Mostly I just plant everything so close togther that they tend to hold each other up.

Peony rings or some other grow-through cage will give you the most natural shape and appearance.

Karen

If you use twiggy prunings early in the year many perennials will grow up through them and they will be invisible by summer. The trick is to get the supports in before they are needed.

Here is a link that might be useful: Supporting perennials

I took out my first planting of Shasta Daisies (Alaska) because of the staking required. Since then I have searched for and found two other shorter varieties which do not need staking (White Knight:expensive and difficult to grow, and Snowlady). I put some in last year and will put more in this year. I think the suggestion of peony rings would be perfect. I have used the smaller version of the peony rings (from the dollar store) for my maltese cross and they work quite well. My hollyhocks are against my fence and if necessary, I tie them to the fence posts.

For the rust on the hollyhocks: work a few handfulls of cornmeal into the earth around the roots and that takes care of it for the new leaves. You may want to remove some of the existing rusted leaves. I was told this several years ago by a neighbour who is a southern American, and I have posted it on this forum several times. It works for me.

Flora's suggestion was excellent, the trick to staking and not arriving at shapes that are unnatural and stressed looking - I've tied 'waist lines', as in Marilyn Monroe style curvey shapes, into more clumps of things than I care to admit - is to anticipate what is going to require staking and do it early, before needed. If stakes and supports are in place before plants are tipping and falling, chances are they will have grown to disguise the support and it won't be nearly as visible.

After years and years of perennial gardening, I still don't always get it right or get to it in time :)

I hadn't thought about peony rings. I will do that next year. They will just have to look terrible this year.
Last night I pulled probably 70% of the leaves off of the hollyhocks and put those in the burn pile. I will try to obtain some corn meal and see if that helps. THe good news is that you can see all the blooms now:) The leaves probably needed thinned a little anyway. They were very very bushy.

For some of my taller things (valerian, lillies) that need staking, I use tomato cages. I actually spray painted them green so that they blend in with the foliage better. I keep them in the ground year round.

I learned on this forum a few years ago that the trick with Shastas that flop is at the first bud cut them back back 1/3. I know it seems counterproductive and I didn't believe it at first but it works. I just did it this morning. If you want to give it a try take a portion and try it.

Shastas wintersow like mad for me and the first year I tied them, staked them, all types of things. I was about to tear them out but I gave this a try and it worked.