Allotments 4 All

love the writting and the hollyhock

Amazing GW :D  The black one is very unusual, haven't seen one as dark as that before :)

i grew this from seed a couple of years back ~ this is the first time it has flowered & like you G i'm also amazed at how black it is ;D ( even mr GW was impressed ;D ;D)

Have you sneeked into my garden and taken a photo of my black hollyhock? It's exactly the same as yours!!!

Lovely again GW U must try Creme de Cassis. The colour, sort of maroon/purple with a sheen, is much better than on the pack, semi doubles and quite good rust resistance.

must watch out for that one s :)
your copying me again P ;D ;D ;D ;D

Possibly!!! I have a thing about black flowers and leaves - I've had black hollyhocks for three years now - aren't they just scrummy?

My hollyhocks have lost all their leaves to rust. The flowers are still nice though. Mine are white. Any tips?

Smashing pics GW!

i've been lucky this year~no rust ;D ;D

Quote"Hollyhock rust is a very common fungal disease. It begins with yellow or orange spots with red centers on the top side of the leaf, along with brown pin-head sized dots on the underside of the leaf. Eventually gray pustules form on the underside of the leaf, and all the spots run together, killing big areas of leaf tissue.

Hollyhock rust overwinters on the basal leaves and old stems of the plant. In the fall, after killing frosts, remove and destroy the old leaves and stems. During the growing season you can remove and destroy infected leaves. Disturbing plants while the leaves are wet spreads the disease, so allow plants to dry before working around them.

Other cultural practices that keep hollyhocks healthy include growing them in full sun, in rich moist soil and making sure they have good air circulation. Another tip is to grow them in the back of the garden with shorter plants in front of them to conceal the damage. Some gardeners grow them as biennials, starting new plants every year, and removing them after they flower in their second season. This keeps diseases from building up on older, weaker plants."

maybe the above info will be of some use to you~better luck next year H :)

also trying to build up a collection of black plants P ;D ;D

Cheers GW!  I'm wondering whether to start over with them.  Mind you although they look odd they have still produced some lovely flowers  ;D.  Maybe hiding them as the piece suggests is a better option.