On 3 Mar 2004 02:10:40 -0800, (Fleemo)
wrote:

Strolling through my garden today, I discovered that my young
hollyhocks *already* have signs of rust. I had to battle rust last
year in this spot. What can I do to help my hollyhocks?

-Fleemo

There was an interesting article on Hollyhocks in our paper
this past Sunday (2/29/04).

It too mentioned "rust" as being a common problem.

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email
====
From:

http://www.courierpress.com/ecp/home...659195,00.html

Hollyhocks are American garden staple

By DIY
February 17, 2004

Slavery was legal when Bazil Silkwood went south to visit a
planter in Georgia. We can only imagine this Illinois
businessman's horror at the injustice of slave labor in the
1830s.

Perhaps little 10-year-old Priscilla was living with her
mother on that farm, or maybe she had been long separated
from her mother by the sale of her family. Either way, she
stuck in Silkwood's mind and stayed there.

Not long after, the plantation owner died and his property
was sold. Priscilla managed to collect a quantity of
hollyhock seeds from the slave quarters. These stout plants
bore small pink flowers with maroon veins that were tiny
compared with today's hollyhocks. Sold to a Cherokee chief,
she cultivated the flowers at that new home among the
Indians. In 1838 the Cherokee were forced down the Trail of
Tears to the new Indian Territory in northeastern Oklahoma.

Along the way Priscilla encountered Bazil Silkwood, who
recognized the girl and purchased her from the chief for
$1,000 in gold.

Priscilla grew up a free woman with the Silkwoods as part of
the family. They would raise 16 orphans in all. Priscilla
planted the hollyhocks again at the Silkwood Inn, which she
inherited and which was where she died in 1892.

The hollyhocks persisted at that site. In 1950, they came
full circle when seed was sent to the daughter of the last
chief of the Cherokees in Oklahoma. To this day they grow
among the Cherokee homes and are named "Priscilla" after the
girl who loved hollyhocks.

But the hollyhock was cultivated long before Priscilla's
day. Those we recognize today are believed to be of Asian
origin, because they are depicted in Chinese art as early as
the ninth century, symbolizing passing time. Plants have
been cultivated in Europe for the past 500 years with seed
imported from China.

Some believe that the name was derived from Crusaders, who
carried seeds gathered in the Holy Land.

Hollyhocks came into their own as garden plants during the
Victorian era. Easily grown from seed, the old standard
single strains were as reliable as Priscilla's flowers.

Inexpensive seed that was easy to send by mail made them a
common sight on the frontier. Old photographs often depict
these flowers against picket fences of homesteads and farms.
This is because they are top-heavy plants that become
unstable in the wind. They could be conveniently tied to a
fence.

The Achilles' heel of the plants is their "ugly shins." This
is caused by discolored leaves, often spotted with rust and
chewed by pests as the plant ages. This made them a staple
for the back of beds and flower borders where shorter
dahlias would cloak the bottom third.

Hollyhocks are marvelous flowers to grow from seed because
they produce a big, satisfying plant. They germinate easily,
and at the end of the season you can collect seed for next
year.

Jung Quality Seeds (www.jungseed.com) has a good offering of
single- and double-flowered varieties.

Among the company's great offerings is the vigorous black
hollyhock that once grew for Thomas Jefferson at Monticello.
There is also the Crem De Cassis in a shade of rosy purple.

The company's Hollyhock Single Old Fashioned Mix is a
perfect starter sampler with a striking array of other
luscious colors. Hollyhocks belong in American gardens. They
have stood against cabin walls and picket fences since
colonial times. These are flowers to capture your heart and
ignite a passion for plants.