year after year my hollyhocks plant is looking so severely diseased. There are black spots in almost all the leaves and also the stems are so severely damaged that they form holes in them. This plant produces beautiful blooms every year and I am reluctant to uproot it. I remove the damaged leaves as much as possible but I wanted to know if there is something I can do to make it more healthy next year? In this picture, you see the flowers...but I don't have any pics of the damage. What should I do ? ( photo / image / picture from Tina's Garden )
It is a shame that you do not have any foto's of the leaf and stem damage. It is really difficult to offer you any suggestions without actually seeing the evidence. If you ever have the chance it would be nice to see foto's of the stem damage as well as the top and undersides of the affected leaves.
The most common disease to hit Hollyhocks is Hollyhock Rust... Puccinia malvacearum. Do a google search for photos of Hollyhocks infected with the rust and see if that damage looks like your plants. Check with a local garden center to see what treatments are available and legal in your area. They will be able to tell you have to treat it too. But basically remove leaves as they show infection, then cut down the plant after it finishes blooming. Clean up the plant debris around the plant, the fungus spores live there and will re-infect new plants in the spring. Try not to water the Hollyhocks from overhead, water on the leaves creates the humidity needed for the fungus to develop and spread. And make sure there is adequate space for good air circulation around the plants.
I did a Bing ( I am a microsoftie ) search on 'Puccinia malvacearum' and seems like my Hollyhocks has just that :'( I do remove the leaves but it seems to be getting worse every year. I will go to the garden center to check for available treatments. Thanks!
Hey girls!!! Philip Nulty gave me a GREAT recipe that helped my roses and hollyhocks! 1 TBSP veg oil 1 TBSP cider vinegar 1 TBSP liquid soap (I used Dawn) 1 1/2 TBSP baking soda 1 tsp Listerine Mix into 1 gallon of water Worked like a charm! :-D Tina if you have any extra seeds I'd swap you for some of my black hollyhock
Thanks Startsmom, I will try this recipe out next season for sure. I am sorry - I didnt keep any seeds. I will remember to take some next year and send them across to you.
