Plant them in the ground. They should do fine.

Karen

The only hollyhock that survived the winter was one I set in the ground in a pot & mulched w/straw. I grew several plants via WS but only two bloomed and both of them died over the winter. One was planted on the west side of my garage, an area very exposed to harsh winter weather. The one that didn't bloom was set in the ground along with a few dozen other WS plants and mulched with a thick layer of straw. Everything was covered by 8 ft. of snow over the course of the winter but just the one that was in the ground & mulched with straw survived. It bloomed this year and is now planted on the north side of my house. I'm guessing without mulch this winter it won't come back.

The rule of thumb for overwintering things in pots is they have to be hardy to two zones colder than your actual zone. So for you in zone 6, the plants would need to be hardy to Z4 in order to survive winter just in a pot. I believe hollyhocks are hardy only to Z5.

I grew several containers of HH via WS last year and only one plant survived. The ones I WS this year are scrawny and only a couple have grown as tall as 8 inches so I'm not expecting any to survive the winter. The flowers are gorgeous but I won't waste time or effort on them again if they're so difficult to keep alive.

My hollyhocks overwinter in the ground, zone 3b. I do have a black; but, other than that they are generic. I usually transplant to the location I want them one year; they sit there doing nothing and bloom the following year.

My black hhs are tough. In the ground I say.

BTW, I used to think the black was a rare color, but it's very very common.

Are HH,s a bi annual ? I grew some this year also,can I expect them to not show up next year, but reappear, the following year?
cAROL

GOK :) Officially, hh bloom the second year and die. However, I think there are perennial varieties. Add to that, it is next to impossible to know if the plant that looks the same year after year is coming up from the root or from seedlings lodged in the base of the plant.

I ws'ed black holly hock in '10, put the seedlings right in the ground that summer, and have a nice "gathering" of about 5 plants with tall stalks right now. Next to a purple blooming butterfly bush on one side and a pink rose on the other side- looks nice. Can't say if this kind comes back every year to bloom, but I have another spot across the yard that are pinks and burgundys and they come back each year. seeds that fall? Maybe.. but I do gather a lot of seeds.

As noted above hollyhocks are often ''officially'' biannual but I have some that do their best in the third year so I feel the designation is a rule of thumb.

Mine all died from rust. I just re-started some from seeds. I will be using a fungicide and cornmeal.

Hollyhock is a biennial but a voracious self seeder. I spent a good part of the morning pulling starts that my black hollyhock had self-seeded. They have a taproot, like a carrot and die back in the winter. You'll get flowers the second year and an abundance of seed. Once you get them started they keep going on their own by seed and will take over a bed if you let them. Need more seed? I'll send you some as the pods are ripe for picking on my single black Nigra hollyhock.

I would love to have some of your seeds please email me at lindamd54@gmail.com Thank you!

Check the date of the seed offer, Linda. Plus it’s unwise to publish your email address.