Rupert wrote:
I say Gardenbanter is wrong. Read a bit more about the subject and have a
look at SRH's work and that of others and the haze will clear.

You don't need to be patronising. I'm saying you gave a wrong info
about the hollyhocks. The Antwerp collection is not good in heavy clay
soil. End of story. I think you've just google and send a link to
Thomson and Morgan seeds to Ollie's mum without knowing if they were
suitable in clay soil. That's all.

That's not an answer and you don't need to be patronising.

Gardening is not about *now*.

When is gardening about then? Every year is a different year. That's
the beauty of it really.

What you grew last year and decades ago is
IMHO what counts towards knowledge

Indeed. But I'm only asking what you have been doing say the last 5
years.

Can't actually find the bit in this thread about biennials--are you getting
mixed up with Echiums which you wrongly said were biennials?

No. You've said you've grown hollyhocks many years ago but gave up
because they were biennals. See below.

Rupert wrote:
Alcea ficifolia/Alcea rosea
Majority opinion says they should be treated as members of a single
species
. Ordinary clay soil is not a problem .
Gardenbanter said that the 'minority says they should be treated ....'.
Yes and I guess you now know they are wrong.
Have you grown Hollyhocks before Rupert?
Yes many years ago. Gave up because they really were biennials and I
never
got another year out of them. Much nicer effect with Abutilon which is
non
deciduous and can be grown to several metres high. Supposedly not frost

hardy but it grows well here in my part of West Yorkshire. I think it's

Tennants (sp) white. Fabulous plant flowers early so in that sense it's
not
the best substitute for Hollyhocks.

Rusty just told you they're not before this post too.

As for the Echiums, they are very special indeed. In the UK Echium
pininana is monocarpic (dies after flowering) and not biennial, as Dave
Poole said. However, in very hot climate they grow and flower on the
same year, as explained by Sacha later on. So perhaps I was wrong, but
with the hollyhocks you are too )

I think you have lost the plot. Hollyhocks and Abutilon are not the same
plant

Never said they were.

I have grown Hollyhocks on a clay soil. My planting technique is obviously
different and in this case better than yours.

Which ones, beside the Rosea you have grown in clay soil?