Hollyhock Seeds

Hollyhock Seeds for Planting: Cottage Garden Giants for Bees and Hummingbirds

Few flowers say cottage garden like hollyhocks. Our collection of hollyhock seeds gives you tall, old-fashioned spires of blooms that draw bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, and that look right at home towering over a fence, shed, or back border. Both varieties here are organic, heirloom, and open-pollinated, so you can save seed from your own plants and keep them going for years. Hollyhocks reseed readily, which means a single planting can grow into a permanent patch.

Hollyhock Seed Varieties: Outhouse and Black

Outhouse Hollyhock is the classic, an heirloom named for the old farmstead habit of planting it beside the outhouse to screen it from view. It grows into a tall, sturdy plant with open-faced blooms that pollinators can reach easily, and it's a natural choice for the back of a border or along a fence line. Black Hollyhock takes a moodier approach, with deep maroon flowers so dark they read as nearly black, which look striking against pale walls and soft pink or white neighbors. Both prefer full sun and shrug off cold, but neither handles heat as well, so they do best where summers stay moderate and benefit from extra water during hot spells.

Hollyhock Seed Planting: A Biennial Worth the Wait

Growing hollyhock from seed is easy but unhurried. Press the large, flat seeds about a quarter inch deep and expect sprouts in roughly 16 to 20 days. Hollyhocks are biennials, so plants spend their first season building leaves and a deep taproot and usually bloom in their second year. Sow in late spring or summer for flowers the following year, and sow where the plants will stay, since that taproot resents being moved. Planning a flower that blooms a year after you sow it is easier with a little help, so the Seedtime garden planning software builds a planting calendar around your frost dates, and the garden journal lets you record the year each patch was sown so you know when to expect blooms.

Buy Hollyhock Seeds with One Shipping Charge

When you buy hollyhock seeds here, you can add seeds from multiple suppliers to the same order and pay one flat shipping charge, or qualify for free standard shipping on Seedtime-fulfilled orders of $49 or more to the lower 48 states. Paid Seedtime members get 20% off seed packets marked "Fulfilled by Seedtime" and 5% off everything else in the store. You can start planning for free, and if you want unlimited calendars and layouts along with those store discounts, compare Seedtime's plans to find the right fit. Whether you're picking out hollyhock seeds for sale for a single fence line or both varieties for a longer border, it all ships together.