The hollyhocks bloom from July to September. Its large flowers have a diameter of 6 - 10 cm and not only delight the garden owner, bumblebees also like the mallow plant. The flowers are even edible.
When and how should you cut hollyhocks?
Hollyhocks do not need to be pruned regularly, but pruning after flowering and before seed production can enable flowering the following year. As cut flowers, stems with 3-4 open flowers should be cut.
Do hollyhocks need to be cut regularly?
Hollyhocks do not need to be cut regularly. You shouldn't even think about it in the first year, because during this time the hollyhock only forms a rosette of leaves. Only plants that have been grown indoors or sown the previous fall may be able to bloom. However, the warm hollyhocks are less robust and hardy than those grown outdoors.
Cutting for longer blooms
In principle, the hollyhock is a biennial perennial. In the year it is sown it does not yet bloom, only a rosette of leaves appears. You can only look forward to the large, bright flowers in the second year.
If you cut back your hollyhock after the flowering period and before seed production, it will sprout again next year and bloom again, but less profusely and the susceptibility to disease also increases with age.
Are hollyhocks suitable for a vase?
The hollyhock is also suitable as a cut flower. Cut the stems when only three or four individual flowers have opened. More buds will then open in the vase. Change the water in the vase every two or three days to help your hollyhocks last longer.
Can I use hollyhocks in the kitchen?
The flowers and roots of the hollyhock are edible, both can be used in the kitchen or in the medicine cabinet. For consumption, only cut undamaged and fully open flowers.
You can make tea with it or use the flowers as edible decorations. Cut the roots into small pieces before infusion. A tea made from hollyhocks is said to help with coughs and hoarseness, but also against loss of appetite and diarrhea.
The most important things in brief:
- Pruning can enable flowering the following year
- Hollyhock suitable as a cut flower
- cut stems with 3 – 4 open flowers for the vase
- Cut fresh flowers for consumption
Tip
By pruning before seeds form, you can help your hollyhock to live longer and bloom again next year.
