How To Collect Hollyhock Seeds

The first hollyhocks I grew in my garden were black hollyhocks in memory of an old neighbor who grew them when I was a kid. These hollyhocks were biennial, from seed they take two years to complete a life cycle, and I didn't save any seeds and so lost both of them.

Why didn't I save seeds from my hollyhocks? Not really sure why I didn't since hollyhock seeds are easy to collect. If you have a hollyhock in your garden that you really like, you should save some seeds from it every year and sow them.

Collecting and saving hollyhock seeds is very simple.

How to collect and save hollyhock seeds

Columbine Seedling

We've been experiencing a bit of rain in Chicago these past few days and one benefit from it is the seedlings that have emerged or have been given a boost by extra water. I was taking advantage of the fact that the soil is saturated with water and pulling weeds is relatively easy when I spotted a couple of seedlings. One of the seedlings I spotted amongst the weeds is this columbine seedling.

Black Hollyhocks

Alcea rosea is an old fashioned plant that I remember from my childhood but I don't see in many gardens now. When I was a kid there was an eccentric woman in my neighborhood that we called the "crazy bird lady" because her old Victorian knock-off was always covered in pigeons.