In message , Rupert
writes
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.

s/wrong/misreported/
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

"Rusty Hinge 2" wrote in message
k...
The message
from "Rupert" contains these words:

Yes many years ago. Gave up because they really were biennials

No they're not.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig
They were for me on a clay soil ;-)

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?

"La Puce" wrote in message
oups.com...

Rupert wrote:
Snip
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?

I think that is now a bit irrelevant and I don't know anyway.
You said Crocus.com sell Hollyhocks which do well on a heavy clay soil.
I have grown some sort of hollyhocks on a clay soil and far as I know the
cultural requirements of both the types we have talked about are the same.
SRH has had no success with either type on a heavy clay soil.

At least we both now know they are annuals, biennials and perennials;-)
Perhaps we should ask "Ollie's Mum" what sort of clay soil she has.

Rupert wrote:

I think that is now a bit irrelevant and I don't know anyway.
You said Crocus.com sell Hollyhocks which do well on a heavy clay soil.
I have grown some sort of hollyhocks on a clay soil and far as I know the
cultural requirements of both the types we have talked about are the same.
SRH has had no success with either type on a heavy clay soil.

At least we both now know they are annuals, biennials and perennials;-)
Perhaps we should ask "Ollie's Mum" what sort of clay soil she has.

Ok.

The message
from Stewart Robert Hinsley contains these words:

Hollyhocks are annuals, biennials or short-lived perennials.

From around 1944 until we left the house in 1950 there were several
hollyhock plants beside our porch. Plants, not a series of them. They
same colours in the same spots.

/snip/

I haven't succeeded in growing *any* hollyhocks in heavy, wet, clay,
including non-Ficifolia types.

I have offered Ollie's Mum some seeds from a hollyhock which I found
growing in heavy Norfolk soil - you could almost make pots with it.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

The message
from "Rupert" contains these words:
"Rusty Hinge 2" wrote in message
k...
The message
from "Rupert" contains these words:

Yes many years ago. Gave up because they really were biennials

No they're not.

Separator in search of a sig
They were for me on a clay soil ;-)


And on a garden of heavy yellow London Clay the same stand of hollyhocks
returned year after year from 1944 till at least 1950, and I'd guess
that they were originally planted pre-war.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

In message , Rusty Hinge
2 writes
The message
from Stewart Robert Hinsley contains these words:

Hollyhocks are annuals, biennials or short-lived perennials.

From around 1944 until we left the house in 1950 there were several
hollyhock plants beside our porch. Plants, not a series of them. They
same colours in the same spots.

Six years probably still counts as short-lived, but it's not bad for a
hollyhock in my experience. (OTOH, the Hollyhock Border at Powis Castle
has been there a few years, and I suspect that the turnover of plants
there is fairly low.) Then again, IIRC, you've said that Malva
sylvestris is rather more perennial in your neck of the woods than mine.

/snip/

I haven't succeeded in growing *any* hollyhocks in heavy, wet, clay,
including non-Ficifolia types.

I have offered Ollie's Mum some seeds from a hollyhock which I found
growing in heavy Norfolk soil - you could almost make pots with it.


I suspect that my problem may be as much wet as clay. But I've done
better growing them in pots, or in the allotment (which is still a bit
wet (in winter) and heavy, but nowhere as bad as my garden).
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Rusty Hinge 2 wrote:
I have offered Ollie's Mum some seeds from a hollyhock which I found
growing in heavy Norfolk soil - you could almost make pots with it.

You are such a lovely fellow, you really are. I've been admiring those
ones for a few years now. They remind me of home - very sandy soil
though ;o)

http://cjoint.com/?cfxrDKhrgL