Spring Celebrities Purple Hollyhock

No cottage garden is complete without a variety of Hollyhock. Spring Celebrities is a shorter, but sturdier Hollyhock that does not skimp on the blooms. The large 3 inch blooms completely cover a sturdy flower spike that is much less likely to require staking. Spring Celebrities Purple Hollyhock is perfect for the smaller garden or even container growing. It is also cold and drought tolerant once it is established. Hollyhocks are great attractors for beneficial pollinators, butterflies and hummingbirds.They make fabulous cut flowers that are long lived in the vase and long blooming in the garden. The shorter size of Spring Celebrities Purple Hollyhock means that it can be planted closer to a pathway so that the beautiful blooms can be seen up close. Spring Celebrities Purple Hollyhock Care Hollyhocks like soil that has good drainage but also lots of nutrition. They will bloom best when mulched early in the spring with an organic compost. A balanced, slow release fertilizer can also be applied early in the spring. Regular watering will help the plants establish fully and provide strong root systems to over winter successfully. A neutral, acid or alkaline soil is fine. Leaving the seedheads standing in the fall and winter is beneficial to both the birds for food, and to other beneficial insects as shelter or nesting. One of the best ways to attract beneficial wildlife to the garden is to provide different flower shapes. The fluffy, double blooms of Spring Celebrities is sure to appeal to birds with long beaks such as hummingbirds. Spring Celebrities Purple Hollyhock Spacing Spring Celebrities Purple Hollyhock reach a mature size of 24-30 inches tall and 12-18 inches wide. These herbaceous perennials can be planted quite close together at 12 inches on center. Good air circulation is important for all Hollyhocks. They tend to be susceptible to Hollyhock Rust in climates that are very humid in the summer. Removing any leaves and stems that show rust spores should be removed immediately.