Hollyhocks will not bloom in their first, but rather in their second year.

Remember, when growing hollyhocks from seed, not all will come true to their parent plant. Sow in holes or drills, aiming for an eventual spacing of around 60cm between each of your hollyhock plants. Sowing Hollyhocks OutdoorsĪlternatively, if you prefer, you can select a suitable spot in your garden and directly sow your hollyhock seeds so that they will germinate in the same location where they will then continue to grow. When the time comes, select a suitable spot for planting, then plant your seedlings in the garden once the weather has warmed reliably, which is typically in June. In late May or early June, begin the process of hardening off your indoor-sown hollyhock seedlings to acclimatise them to outdoor growing conditions. Then, leave the seedlings to grow until it is time to transplant them into your garden. Once the seeds germinate and the seedlings begin to grow, prick out each seedling and pot it up into its own individual pot. Place the hollyhock seeds on the surface of the moist but well-drained growing medium.Ĭover them over lightly with a little more of the same medium. Prepare your area for seed sowing, making sure that you have your seed flats, seed trays or other containers in place, filling them with a suitable peat-free, seed-starting compost. With a heated propagator, germination will typically be a little quicker, but this is not essential for these plants to grow successfully from seed. However, you will find that germination rates are better if you can keep temperatures consistent and between 16-21☌ until the seedlings emerge. If you decide to sow hollyhocks indoors, then you can do so in seed trays or modules on a sunny windowsill. That said, if you have lighter soils and can provide the optimal conditions, sowing outside directly can work just fine. Though the former option has more stages to it and involves a little more work, it is generally the best option in the UK, as directly sowing seeds often means losses to pests like slugs and snails. Hollyhock seeds can either be sown indoors in April or May or directly sown where you will grow them in your garden in May or June. Seeds, pots or trays, growing medium, heated propagator (optional) Read on for more detail on the methods that you might employ in your garden. Harden off and plant out indoor-sown hollyhocks in June.Prick out and pot on hollyhock seedlings when they are large enough to handle.Prepare a sowing area indoors, with a seed tray filled with seed-starting compost.

To grow hollyhocks from seed, you can either sow seeds indoors between April and May or sow outside directly where they are to grow in May or June. Hollyhocks are relatively easy to grow yourself from seed and, in many UK gardens in a suitable spot, will self-seed readily. They are short-lived perennials, but due to fungal problems, hollyhocks are often best treated as biennials. Hollyhocks are cottage garden favourites that can add height and drama to mixed borders, brightening up your beds with their cheerful, blousy blooms.

Direct sow hollyhock seeds