Many gardeners believe that hollyhocks are the ideal cottage garden flower. Both single or double hollyhock cultivars, which come in a wide range of colors, may provide a breathtaking show in the beautiful garden. While taller cultivars were more often utilized in the rear of flower beds to provide interest or to make temporary privacy screens, more recent cultivars now come in compact and dwarf variants.
Gathering hollyhock seed is a simple approach to increase the amount of planting stock, much like other open-pollinated varieties of flowers. Understanding this process better will be essential to ensuring that gardeners may continue cultivating their preferred types for many years. So what do hollyhock seeds resemble?
How to Preserve Hollyhock Seeds
Those who want to learn about collecting hollyhock seeds might benefit greatly from understanding the hollyhock plant’s life cycle. Biennial hollyhock plants are said to be. This indicates that the plant will germinate, grow, and bloom in two seasons. Gardeners can anticipate seeing significant leaf output throughout the first growing season. The plant will grow again in the spring when it has overwintered. Each plant will grow longer and develop blooms throughout the whole length of the stalk in its second summer. Hollyhock blossoms are often visited by bees, which makes pollination easy. Gardeners should wait a few weeks after each blossom has faded before trying to collect the seed.
At the base of each finished blossom, hollyhock seed pods will start to develop. All of the wilted flower petals will have fallen off the plant at this point. Hollyhock pods often have a flat look and a pale green tint. Each seed pod will eventually turn from green to tan or brown as time passes. Each pod may be examined when this occurs to determine whether its exterior has become dry or papery. Dark brown mature seeds are often firmly clustered in a pattern like coins around the core of the pod.
The seed pods may then be plucked off the plant if dry. Hollyhock plants are known to hurt the skin of those with sensitive skin. Hence growers should always use gloves while doing so. It is crucial to harvest the seed when it is most mature. Early harvesting of seeds increases the risk of rot or incomplete germination. Even though it could be alluring to keep the seeds on the plant for a long time, mature seed pods are known to split apart on the stem, releasing the seed into the garden. Because of this, many seasoned gardeners have discovered that hollyhock plants are active self-seeders.
Hollyhock Seeds Storage
Mature hollyhock seed should dry after harvest for at least one to two days. It may then be kept until planted in a cold, dark spot. The first few seasons after planting will demand a lot of patience when cultivating hollyhock plants, but successive successions of this flower will undoubtedly add vintage charm every year.