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ponderinstuff

Someone Gave Me Hollyhock Seeds. How Do I Use Them?

ponderinstuff
16 years ago

I admired some hollyhocks I saw in someone's yard. This person pulled some seed pods off his plant and gave them to me. But the seed pods are still green and a friend told me the pods shouldn't be pulled off the plant until they are brown.

Will I still get useable seeds from these green pods?

How do I properly remove the seeds from the pod and prepare them for planting?

Thank you!

Comments (4)

  • tracey_nj6
    16 years ago

    The seed in the pod needs to be brown. But, you could always make up a small pot of soil and plant them, for the heck of it, to see if anything does happen.

  • tgrayson
    16 years ago

    Hollyhock seeds are cheap and readily available. My suggestion would be to get some online and throw them down in some nice planting soil. Tracey is right in that you can try these and see if they work, but buying some seeds is a great backup plan. You'll have more hollyhocks than you can shake a stick at in no time. The only thing you need to watch out for is the rabbits. I have a decent variety of plants in my garden, and the rabbits have chosen to eat my young hollyhocks over anything else. Shooting the rabbits has lessened the issue :)

  • ponderinstuff
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    The papery part of the pod is still green but I'll open up one of the pods and see if the seeds are brown. If I let the whole pod sit for a few weeks, would the seeds inside turn brown?

    The reason I liked these Hollyhocks that were in this gentleman's year is that they were a particularly pretty color. I guess I could look online somewhere and see if I could find some seeds for a similar color and type.

    I hate to hear that rabbits like Hollyhock leaves. I live next to a large wooded area that has deer, rabbits, racoons, squirrel, and all kinds of wildlife. I wonder if a low wire fence around the Hollyhocks would help keep out rabbits?

    Since this will be my first attempt at growing Hollyhocks, do you have any other tips? I don't have a full sun spot but I'm hoping they might still do okay in one area of my yard.

  • jeanr_2007
    16 years ago

    I have Hollyhocks and rabbits in my yard that co-exist but I can't say the same for my Black-eyed Susans. I ended up putting those in raised containers and that kept the rabbits away. Maybe it matters which variety of Hollyhocks we have or what orhwe food is available? My Hollyhocks are less than 8 feet from my bird feeds and the rabbits like to snack below the feeders.

    I know what you mean about having seeds from a garden that you've admired. It somehow seems more special to know where they came from, like a souvenir of a special place, person or day.

    Gook luck with your seeds. I just got some the exact same way. They are from a pale pink and cream Hollyhock---I don't know names, I'm a newbie gardener---but I'm looking forward to trying to grow them.

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