Golden Acre Home & Garden Centre's Plant Library

Other Names:  Althaea rosea

Description:

This variety presents stunning deep burgundy-black flowers on towering spikes in midsummer; tolerant to the natural toxin of Black Walnut; a short lived perennial, but will readily re-seed; plant in full sun for better growth

Ornamental Features

Black Beauty Hollyhock features bold spikes of burgundy round flowers with deep purple overtones, buttery yellow eyes and black centers rising above the foliage from mid to late summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its large tomentose round leaves remain grayish green in colour throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Black Beauty Hollyhock is an herbaceous perennial with a rigidly upright and towering form. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other garden plants with finer foliage.

This is a high maintenance plant that will require regular care and upkeep, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting hummingbirds to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Disease
• Self-Seeding

Black Beauty Hollyhock is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Vertical Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

Black Beauty Hollyhock will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity extending to 6 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 18 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 12 inches apart. It tends to be leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and should be underplanted with lower-growing perennials. The flower stalks can be weak and so it may require staking in exposed sites or excessively rich soils. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 3 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.