I had to finally give up on Hollyhocks. If the rust didn't do them in the japanese beetles did.

Penny

I found that the best thing to do was plant them in the back with black eyed susans in front to hide the rust and jap beetle damage

Mine where all raggeddy too. First i had weevils, then jap beetles. I sprayed the weevils with dish soap mixed with water, that worked for them. And i go out everyday and squash every jap beetle i see on them, they started to look better!!

My hollyhock leaves had minor damage from rust, but I never saw a Jap. beetle on them. They instead ravaged my roses, kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate, cannas, hardy hibiscus, tropical hibiscus, perennial geranium, and killed the top half of my million bells basket. I have never seen such an invasion, but they ignored my hollyhocks as if they didn't exist. I had some Chater's Double but mostly single black.

I tend to keep my hollyhocks at the back of beds -- they were behind some coneflower and black-eyed susan on the one location, and behind some boltonia and tall cosmos on the other. I always have rust issues on hollyhocks, but never on roses :)

well, thank you all for the info, I did go out each morning and each night this summer and hand pick off all the jap beetles and drop them in a bowl of soapy water.
(I also did this with the roses, the hardy hibiscus, and the bergenia, but it didn't bother me to have to do this,in fact, I found it almost theraputic.
Does the rust look like powdery mildew- white-ish grey? Mine were more brown, dried looking, and like I said, quite beautiful and healthy looking green on the new growth.
I think I will try planting something in front of them though...thanks again