One corner of my garden is full of hollyhocks all grown from a packet of
mixed seeds, now I would like to grow some more unusual ones if anyone
has any suggestions, thank you :-)

kate

In article , Kate Morgan
writes
One corner of my garden is full of hollyhocks all grown from a packet of
mixed seeds, now I would like to grow some more unusual ones if anyone
has any suggestions, thank you :-)

kate

There's said to be 60 species of Alcea (Hollyhocks).

(A list of species named can be found at URL:http://www.uk.ipni.org/ipn
i/IpniServlet?whole_name=&family=&infrafamily=&genus =Alcea&infragenus=&i
s_apni_record=on&species=&infraspecies=&is_gci_rec ord=on&author_abbrev=&
publication_title=&is_ik_record=on&show_rank=all&i nclude_authors=on&incl
ude_basionym_authors=on&query_type=by_query.) This gives 109 records,
but it's non-trivial to work out which are currently accepted species. I
have some skepticism about the count of 60 species; at least one of the
recent workers on the genus was a splitter. Documentation of the
majority of the species - found in South West Asia - is difficult to
obtain.

The cultivated hollyhocks are Alcea rosea sensu latu. This is not known
in the wild. To quote from a work in progress:

"Classification: There is some doubt as to the correct classification of
the cultivated hollyhocks. The majority opinion is that all cultivated
hollyhocks should be treated as members of a single species, for which
Alcea rosea L. is the correct name. This is believed to be of ancient
hybrid origin under cultivation, with Alcea setosa and Alcea pallida as
the putative parents. The minority opinion is that the Antwerp or fig-
leaved hollyhock is specifically distinct, in which case it should be
known as Alcea ficifolia L.. If this opinion is accepted then the name
Alcea × cultorum Bergmans is correctly applied to hybrids between the
two species, which may be a large proportion of all cultivated
hollyhocks.

Support for the second opinion comes from the presence in Alcea
ficifolia of features - more deeply divided foliage and typically yellow
flowers - reminiscent of the Russian Hollyhock, Alcea rugosa, and the
near identity of the published Internally Transcribed Spacer (ITS) DNA
sequences of Alcea rosea (could equally well have been Alcea ficifolia)
and Alcea rugosa. This leads me to conjecture that Alcea ficifolia is
Alcea setosa × rugosa and Alcea × cultorum is Alcea setosa × pallida ×
rugosa. This conjecture may be tested by examination of the ITS
sequences of Aa. setosa, pallida, rosea and assorted cultivated forms.
Any volunteers?"

There's a fair number of cultivated seed strains. Chater's Double, in
single colours or formula mixtures, is the common double form.
Blackcurrant Whirl and Creme de Cassis have multi-coloured petals. IIRC,
Peaches and Cream is a pastel double. Nigra is an almost black-flowered
form. Fiesta Time is "A semi-double fig-leaved Hollyhock with frilled
multicolor petals". Zanzibar is said to be a superior strain (I have yet
to identify its superiority) and has a premium price.

Seed of a number of species can be obtained. Such species include A.
rugosa, A. pallida, A. setosa, A. kurdica, A. nudiflora. Google is your
friend.

BTW, T&M's Hollyhock officinalis alba is a marsh-mallow, not a
hollyhock.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

snip interesting info.
There's a fair number of cultivated seed strains. Chater's Double, in
single colours or formula mixtures, is the common double form.
Blackcurrant Whirl and Creme de Cassis have multi-coloured petals. IIRC,

Thank you for that Stewart, I have just been looking at the pictures on
your gallery and I can see that I have a great deal to learn :-) I was
given some Blackcurrant Whirl seeds but the flowers were not multi-
coloured, I was a tad disapointed but I suppose that there are bound to
be some failures, fascinating subject.
kate

In article , Kate Morgan
writes
Thank you for that Stewart, I have just been looking at the pictures on
your gallery and I can see that I have a great deal to learn :-)

OTOH, at least you're managing to grow Hollyhocks, which is more than I
can say.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley