Hollyhock is a herbaceous biennial to annual flowering plant in the mallow family (Malvaceae) and is thought to be native to Turkey and western Asia. The Genus name is the Latin name from the Greek word alkaia for a kind of mallow. The specific epithet means pink. The plant prefers full sun to light shade in moist well-drained sandy to clay loams rich in organic matter. They will grow 5 to 8 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide. The plant readily reseeds in the garden, providing plants year after year. The large ornamental flowers come in shades of purple, red and yellow and grow on rigid, towering spikes that do not require staking. The plant has a long bloom period from June to August. The round to oval leaves are up to 8 inches long and wide but susceptible to diseases and pests and may wither in the summer heat. Use hollyhocks in groups or borders in pollinator, cottage and English gardens. Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: Susceptible to rust, leaf spot, and anthracnose. Slugs, spider mites, and Japanese Beetles can also be a problem. It will escape the garden but rarely lasts long in the wild.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 5 ft. 0 in. - 8 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Texture
Medium
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Orbicular; Ovate
Leaf margin
Crenate; Lobed
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, > 6 inches wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
The large green leaves are up to 8 inches wide and long with toothed margins and 3 to 7 lobes. The upper surface appears wrinkled due to fine veins. The undersurface is hairy and light green. The leaves get smaller as they ascend the stems. T
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; Orange; Pink; Purple/Lavender; Red/Burgundy; White
Flower value
Edible; Showy
Flower form
Raceme
Flower shape
Cup; Funnel
Flower size
3-6 inches
Flower detail
The 4 to 5-inch funnel or cup-shaped flowers appear on a tall spike in terminal raceme. The colors vary from shades of red, yellow and purple, have 5 petals, 5 sepals, 6-9 sepal-like bracts and bloom June to August.
Bloom time
Fall; Spring; Summer
Fruit type
Schizocarp
Fruit detail
The schizocarp contains oval, flattened, and notched seeds that readily germinate.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
The flowering stem is rigid, hairy and mostly unbranched.