I'm not going to try to talk you out of growing them if that's what you want to do, but I want to be sure you've considered how hideous and pervasive hollyhock rust is and how totally it can destroy the attractiveness of the plants.

For prettiness and privacy, hollyhocks would not be my first choice., nor my second or third. And, it pains me to say that because when in bloom and before the holllyhock rust sets in, they are gorgeous. For a while. Not for a long while. Maybe from March through May, and sometimes into June. Sometimes the rust arrives in April, and sometimes even before they bloom. Even if they don't have rust before they start blooming, it usually arrives soon after they start blooming. They also are not highly tolerable of dry clay, though they will tolerate it better if it is well-amended. Rust normally is the worst in spring when there's lots of dew, rainfall and higher humidity. It isn't so bad in summer's drier weather, but before that weather arrives, the rust may pretty much destroy the hollyhocks.

I love hollyhocks and grow some almost every year, but because of their struggles with rust, I generally put them at the back of the garden, not front and center in the yard near a porch or other high-visability area. If you watch and observe how most people grow them in a climate like outs, that is how they are used---as back of the border plants. Or, to hide the outhouse in the back yard. (grin) They're gorgeous while in bloom, and then they go downhill very, very quickly most years.

Having our hollyhocks at the north side of the garden (farthest away from the gate and from public viewing) allows me, and everyone else, to look at their gorgeous flowers and admire them from a distance, while ignoring the creeping, spreading rust on the leaves. You cannot plant anything else too close to them that interferes with the air flow or it just makes the rust worse. So, using penstemon or anything else to hide the rusty leaves likely only would encourage more rust. I'm not saying you can't do it, I'm just saying that it could contribute to the rust problem. In the area where I grow hollyhocks, I generally have tall versions of nicotiana growing in front of them and also cleome and tall versions of cosmos and zinnias. These flowers don't completely hide the rusty hollyhocks, but they do help mask the rust-damaged plants quite a bit.

If you were to grow French hollyhocks (which aren't really hollyhocks at all), you would get the same look as hollyhocks but without the rust issues. I've grown both Malva sylvestris 'Zebrina' and Malva sylvestris 'Mystic Merlin' and they've both done equally well in my garden, though Zebrina reseeds and Mystic Merlin doesn't. They've never suffered from rust and they bloom the first year from seed. Their foliage is much more dense and darker green than hollyhock foliage and looks great most of the summer.

Since you already have hollyhock seeds, check and see if any of them are Fig-leaf holly (Alcea ficifolia), also sold as Antwerp Hollyhock, or the yellow-blooming Russian Yellow Hollyhocks (Alcea rugosa). Both of these varieties are very rust-tolerant and sometimes don't suffer from it at all, even when other varieties around them are covered in rust. A newer variety called Spring Celebrities (Alcea rosea) (sold in single colors by some retailers and also in a mix of multiple colors) has good rust-tolerance.

Also, with any hollyhock variety you choose, check online to find out if it is one that blooms the first year or not. Most hollyhocks classified as Alcea rosea are biennials so bloom the second year. Sometimes if started early enough indoors, some varieties can bloom here the first year from seed, but not all of them do.

You might be able to prevent rust by spraying the plants regularly with a fungicide containing chlorothalonil (Daconil), which would have to be sprayed on a regular basis following label directions. You'd have to start very early because once the rust sets in, Daconil won't prevent it....it just slows the spread.

Understand that hollyhock rust is more than just rusty-looking fungal spots on the foliage. As it worsens, it often makes the leaves turn yellow and fall off. With fewer leaves, there's less photosynthesis. With less photosynthesis comes less flowers and plants that are themselves less healthy and less vigorous than they otherwise would be.

Your hollyhocks might not get rust their first year, but they also might get it that very first year. Mine didn't. I think I grew hollyhocks for 3 or 4 years with no rust problem, but those were drought years and humidity was low and that probably contributed to their success. I did have to water them a lot to get them established in a drought year. They generally do fine without irrigation most years.

We had horrible rust last year, but then we had a pretty rainy spring and early summer. Each year is different. In years when rust is a problem, you need to religiously clean up every bit of plant material off the ground and dispose of it to lessen the chance of rust spores overwintering and being a problem the next year.

Okay. I'll give them a try and see if it's worth having. I know the Jerusalem artichokes were prone to rust when they became over crowded (because I didn't dig them up). The gnarly behavior is just as you describe.

My packages aren't marked and I have received them from multiple sources. I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't have two or three varieties in there. I have space in the yard. I'll try them out in different places.

If the warm/dry weather trend from which y'all have suffered continues, your hollyhocks might have a good to great Spring because there might not be enough humidity or rain to contribute to the rust issue. With hollyhocks, you just never know what you'll get since rust needs the moisture.