First, it would be nice if you included a picture. Jeanette

Hello: I know Jeanette. Would love to post a pic and want to get one before they peak. But my digital camera is out of town. Am thinking of borrowing one today. Do you have any ideas about how to approach this? Will post a photo when I have one.

Aunti Hedda

If it is the only double around, then a bee or something could have carried pollen from somewherwe else. Of course, it could be a mutation, too. But then there is the new color and the double showing up at the same time. The odds of both mutating at the same time are very low. Must have been an insect.
You say " It appears to be a cross between the dark rose, the pink, the yellow and the white". Well, it could have had these all for grandparents, that is true. But again it sounds like pollen from a different source.
So I assume you want more of these. I'd save the seeds from this plant and plant them as far as possible from the rest. Even if it is only across the yard, though the farther the better. Then I would see if any of this type are in the next generation. If not, then go at least another generation. By then you should see some that are similar, unless the flowers are being saturated with pollen from your origional hollyhocks.
In the first generation don't discard any unless you see something like the one you want. Then weed out those that are least like the one you want. Weed them out as soon as you recognize them. You want to reduce the pollen source that is not the type you want.
But if the pink double does not show up in the first generation, then save seeds from a large sample of those most like th pink double, like doubles and pink singles.
This will encrease your chances of getting pink doubles next generation.
By the third generation, you should expect several pink doubles.
They will not all be equal, so select the best for seed. I'd select several of the best, to reduce inbreeding.
Bear in mind that all these pink doubles will swamp your origional population of hollyhocks, or else the origional population will swamp the new ones, unless there is a good distance between the two populations. You may have to choose one or the other.
Walter

Aunti Hedda,

"It is nothing short of stunning. I have never done any work with breeding of plants, but I'm thinking I should do something with it. Does anyone have a suggestion?"

I wish I had seen this message thread earlier. I know it has been several months since your post and it is essentially winter now in your area (we've had several killing frosts here in Maine), but are hollyhocks hardy in your climate? In other words, are they perennials as they are in many places? Even if not, you could give Mother Nature some help and provide some winter protection to the spot where the plant was, in the form of an extra thick mulch, inverted cardboard boxes, whatever.

With any luck the plant might reappear next year. If it does, in addition to saving seeds you could try making some cuttings to get additional plants from it. The cuttings should "come true." Many plants that are usually grown from seeds can be propogated from cuttings. You might be able to reproduce the plant asexually to fill your yard with exact duplicates of it. This would give you a source of cuttings that you could share with a nursery or even perhaps with a seed company.

Multiplying it with cuttings would also provide a broader base of seeds to use in selecting out a "true" strain from seeds following the process Walter described. Incidentally, I agree with Walter's reasoning that it probably isn't a mutation, but arose from a hybrid pollination by a bee from some other plants in your neighborhood.

MM

Hello Maine Man: Thanks for the note and for the ideas on how to protect and propogate my eye popping Holly Hocks. Here is what I have done so far. It was to late to take cuttings by the time I got your note. I think we had our third deep frost the day I got your email. But what a great idea, I would never have thought of doing that.

Normally Holly Hocks are considered self seeding perenials here. So while when we have our usual deep freezing winters the plants die off, but prior year seed always restarts. However, since we have been having such incredibly warm winters lately, I have noticed that a lot of plants seem to be surviving. So at your suggestion I heavily mulched my beauties.

In addition, even though the seed looked pretty feeble, (compared to the strong dark brown coin shaped seed produced by the other plants), it is small and kind of fiberous looking and lacks that, magical coin shape Holly Hock seed normlly has.

That is one of the things I love about Holly Hocks. My Mother used to tell me that when she was a girl she and her frind would collect seed from the yard and pretend that it was magical coins that they would exchange with each other to pay the fair for trips to far away places. So, my Mother would be happy to know that I harvested seed, dried it, and have set it away for spring.

Next year as suggested, I will plant it on the other side of the yard, away from the existing beds and see what I get. Let's hope for the best and maybe with all the help I have gotten from friends on this site, we will have success in getting another crop next year...if I do...hmmm maybe Santa will have Holly Hock seed to give for Christmas in 2005. Thank you so much Maine Man.

Aunti Hedda

PS: My daughter reminded me this fall, that we did have a few very pale yellow doubles in the bed last year...I forgot about that. So maybe they were brought in by bees, and that could be what started the whole thing. Think so?

Annti Hedda, I was just reading your posting regarding heavily mulching your prized hollyhock. Just a word of caution ... your plants are very likely to ROT if you've covered them before the ground has been well frozen! This has happened to me on a several occasions! To be on the safe side, last year I dug up and stored in the cold room a few of my most stunning hollyhocks. Firstly, I had cut the stems down LOW and allowed these to dry off real well thus avoiding possibility of rot setting in ... I think I even put some type of bulb dust on the cut stems. These plants had been potted and kept at a temperature around 40f. Come spring all four of them had come through 100% ... so this year I'm doing the same!

Whatever procedure you follow, please let us know your results! Thanks!

Terry

I had a gardener who knew I was interested in holly hocks who gave me a dwarf grown holly hock last year. I kept the seeds and have started them in my green house. Also, I have the plant that I was given which bloomed and bloomed. I have tried to find some gardener who has dwarf holly hocks, however so far no luck.

Hello Teachtalk:

That is very interesting. I have had quite a few Holly Hocks in one bed that have been very short. Not sure if they would qualify as dwarf. They look like regular Holly Hocks...They bloom and flower the same. But just not as tall. Some have been as short as about three feet. I sort of chalked it up to the density of the growth of the plants. Because they are pretty densly packed...in that particular bed.

Aunti Hedda

I have a complete green house which has cross polinated, I love holly hocks and when I got a new green house I planted it full of holly hocks, then my brother said would you mind keeping mother's geranium in the green house, I said yes.

Burpee's offers shorter Hollyhocks. Nigra is said to grow 4 feet tall, and Queeny Purple only 20-30 inches.

I like the tall ones myself, but it sure wouldn't hurt for someone to develop a strain with a full color range that doesn't top 3 feet or so. It would make a nice low border, or they could be planted in front of the tall types to give more color.

Karl

Here is a link that might be useful: Burpee's Hollyhocks

So Aunti Hedda what happened? Did your holly hocks make it? Did your seed germinate?

Just came across this post. How did this story end??

I have deep burgandy Hollyhocks and occasionally I get a double that is Pink with a burgandy center, but when I save those seeds for replanting, they come out burgandy.
Sometimes flowers make no sense. I think sometimes the PH of the soil has a lot to do with the color of the flower. The DNA of the plant will allow for color change when variable come in to play such as nutrients. Pollenation can only effect the seeds that are produced and can change the DNA as well.