I sprayed mine with BAYER DISEASE CONTROL. That killed the rust 100%. Best foliage I have ever had. I have no idea about weevils. I have read that BT would kill them, but I really don't know. I only spray for fungus, so have been lucky to not have any more problems.

charleney, did you spray after rust appeared or before? That's critical I think. However, as it's been said on this forum before "If you love hollyhocks, you expect the rust".

I'm growing hollyhocks for the first time and expect my first blooms any day. I thought they were biennials, meaning they would sprout one year, bloom the second summer, and then die. Are they actually perennial, so might bloom for many years? Or do you simply have new plants growing every year so your patch blooms yearly?

Martha

They are labeled biennial and most are, but I know that I've had some hollyhocks plants that come back every year from the same root. In fact small foliage at the base of the spent plant stays nearly green all winter(!).

Well thanks everyone for the reply. Charleney- I'm looking into Bayer disease control. Then I saw the Bayer 3 in 1 control and I thought that would be great for the rust and the weevils. But I'm a little concerned about the Bee Decolonization effect. So I'm still deciding on that.
Docmom- my hollyhohcks are perennials. I started all of them from seed. The first year, the plant and foliage grows. Then it dies back in the fall and I cut everything down. The second year it blooms. I cut the stalks and they rebloom at least one more time, just fewer blooms on each rebloom. And then each year they keep coming back. That's why I love them. A lot of bang for your buck once they're established. And, this is my very first year with rust, so usually that's not a problem for me.

Thanks, JBaldwin. I was actually planning on letting mine die off as the native perennials around them got established. Oh, well. I can probably bear to enjoy them for as long as they want to hang around. LOL.

Martha

My hollyhocks were covered with rust last year. I had to cut them down and didn't get to enjoy them. I cleaned up very carefully and threw around some corn meal. Then when the plants put out new fall growth I put more cornmeal. This spring I again cleaned carefully and more corn meal.
No rust, beautiful holly hocks, the tallest I've ever had.
That said, the Bayer products seem to be very good. I don't know how toxic they are, but they are the only thing I know that gets rid of lily beetles so I do use it on the few lilies I kept once those darn things arrived.
Kathy

Oh boy that terrible Hollyhock Rust is so unsightly,..i get it every year,..my hollyhocks are about three years old,..however i always use Neem Oil and Liquid Soap,..a teaspoon of each in a Pint of water then heavily spray the under leaf first,..then the over leaf,..i spray when ever we have a dull day,..don't spray on a sunny day as the droplets will burn the leaf,..i have to admit i fail to spray in time,..that is before there are signs of rust appearing,.. rather than when it first shows.

I must try that Bayer Disease Control.

Philip

I do not use the all in one. I mainly go roses and use that for the only spray. The HH were rusty before sprayed, and it cleared them right up. Good Luck!

As soon as I saw a little rust appearing on lower leaves of my hollyhock, I removed the really bad infected leaves. Then I used copper fungicide powder. That really seemed to help as it controlled the spread.

Are all of you aware of the risks to beneficial pollinators when using any pesticides in your gardens? Please be informed of the catastrophic effect pesticides have had on pollinators worldwide and the very serious consequences to our environment. Thank you!