Hollyhocks(Gul-e-Khaira)

[alirazaq]

Assalam u Alaykum to Everyone

I am a novice to gardening and growing annuals for the first time for this spring. I have some plants of petunia,pansy,mesembry,antirrhinum,gazania and marigolds in containers.
I am planning to plant Gul-e-Khaira in containers on my rooftop. A local nursery man is selling them and the plants are healthy and are on Buds. But there are a few questions:-

i. Will it be feasible to plant them in containers? nursery man is saying that atleast 14 inch pot will be enough
ii. When Will it flower? As i have read in some other post where Izhar bhai has mentioned that it is perennial and it does not flower in the first year but this will be not the case as it is already on buds.
iii. should I tranplant considering weather of Lahore which cold and wet these days?
iv. I want to buy 10 plants and he is offering me Rs.50 for each plant but I have heard that it is a wild plant so is the price appropriate.

Waiting for Reply anxiously
Regards,
Ali.

[Farhan Ahmed]

Hollyhock is biennial, and flowers within 6-8 months in our climate and then dies due intense summer heat.
Its a wild idea of trying them in pots, they are border plants however anything can be attempted in pots.
Hollyhocks can be transplanted better when they are small, they form large root system, moreover when you transplant you are bound to damage the roots in which case remaining roots wont be able to support large plant. As you said that they are on buds meaning by they would at least be of 2-3feet, not a good idea to transplant such a big plant.

Price is appropriate.
Hollyhocks are not bothered by cool weather rather it can be helpful in transplanting.
They flower normally March onwards.
If at all you want to try, what you can do is break the pot in which they are to avoid damaging the roots and shift the plant into ground or bigger pot.
More detail on plant size for better advice.

[Izhar]

Hollyhocks, when in ground, behave as short lived perennials in Karachi.. they tend to live 2-3 years.. However, most of the hollyhocks behave as late blooming annuals i.e. they die within a year after finishing blooming cycle... following are some points which might be useful for you:

1) They are avid seed makes, so to prolong the blooming period you must remove the finished blooms regularly
2) They are moderate to heavy feeders and respond very well to weekly fertilizing
3) They are prone to mealy bugs and need pesticide spray fortnightly
4) They are large plants (if not the dwarf variety) which are more suited to ground or large pots

[alirazaq]

Thanks for your detailed reply farhan it will be certainly helpful. Yes the plants are 2-3 feet high as you have guessed. I will buy 4 or 5 plants and transplant them in 18 inch large pots keeping in view of your method by breaking the orginal pots to avoid minimal damage.
Izhar bhai really appreciate your reply. I will certainly follow your useful tips

Ali

[dragoonsers]

I planted my seeds a couple weeks ago. A bit late but just wanted to grow them. They're in ground and about 3 inches tall. Would they flower this year or next? I is in karachi!

[Farhan Ahmed]

They will surely Insha Allah....but might bolt sooner at smaller height in my opinion. Plant flowers for two reasons in my limited knowledge, Firstly in course of its normal cycle for propagation and secondly when it feels that conditions are not right for its survival and the only way out is to produce seed for continuing its generation(process called bolting). Hollyhocks can bear temperatures in mid 30s, as soon as temperature rises above it will set flowers. So lets see till when karachi weather permits your hocks. Hollyhock has large leaves which cause excessive water loss, feed them with generous watering during hotter months and if possible avoid planting at a location which receives noon sun.