Hollyhocks are biennials, not perennials, so they put out vegetative growth the first year, bloom the second year and set seed, and then die. They reproduce readily by self-sowing of seed. Once you get them established, you'll have blooming hollyhocks every summer. I dug a few from my mom's and had them along a fence -- within a few years they were coming up freely everywhere. Never did a thing to help them along after the first year. Be sure to let them set some seed so they'll keep starting new ones. I don't have a good place for them here but I love seeing them. Enjoy!

Actually, I think most hollyhocks are biennials, as Carol_Ann indicates, but a few (like A. ficifolia, the fig-leaf hollyhock) are short-lived perennials. I've had some of those go for three or four years--and from the original plants, not from reseeding. Allowing some of your plants to set seed is a good idea, no matter what, to ensure that you keep hollyhocks going.

My experience in SE Wi is that that the old fashioned (common) hollyhock behaves like a short lived perennial. As stated above, they are technically biennials. Seed is easy to save & sow. If you have several plants, they hybridize freely. After 5 or 6 years, all our pink hollyhocks reverted to a much darker burgandy/ magenta color. Theres some beetle that riddles the leaves with holes each year. It doesn't look very good but seems to do the plants no harm.