How to Collect and Save Hollyhock Seeds

H(caps)ollyhocks are in the mallow family, the same family as hibiscus. Hollyhocks are biennials or short-lived perennials. Biennial means that the plant requires two years to complete it life cycle. During the first year, hollyhocks grow a root system and a rosette of leaves. The second year, their flowering stems emerge, and they bloom. People all across the world have grown and loved hollyhocks for a very long time. Thanks to the success of the cottage-garden style. Hollyhocks originated in Asia and the area around the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) belong to the mallow family. The botanical name comes from the Latin word 'altheo,' which means 'to cure,' because some hollyhocks have medicinal properties. Today, most of us grow hollyhocks for their ornamental value. While their stunning stalks and flowers have made them favorites of many generations of gardeners, it is their medicinal value that most appealed to the earliest growers.

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Over the centuries, salves and teas made from different parts of the plant were used to cure many different things. Hollyhocks are completely edible, which means that you can use them to make your garden so beautiful, but they are also perfect for creating a revitalizing tea. You can even crystallize the flowers to make stunning cake decorations.

If you grow hollyhock in your garden, you should save some seeds from it every year and sow them. Collecting and saving hollyhock seeds is very simple. The dark circular seeds are thick and flat and easy to handle. Even little kids can join in a hollyhock seed-collecting project.

With these simple steps, you will learn how to identify when hollyhock seed pods are ready to collect, how to collect, and properly save the seeds for growing next years!

How to Collect and Save Hollyhock Seeds

Most hollyhocks are biennials, so the plants only last two seasons and then don't come back. Gathering their seeds is a very good and smart idea, and nature's way of reproducing. Collecting hollyhock seed is very easy. In fact, because the seed pods and the seeds themselves are large and easy to handle, it's a fun project for children as well as adults.

At the end of the growing season, allow some of your favorite hollyhocks flowers to go to seed on the stalks.

The hollyhocks bloom in your garden will probably be pollinated by bees. Bumblebees, in particular, seem to really like hollyhock blooms. They get covered in pollen from a hollyhock flower. After the bloom has been pollinated, the petals will fall off.

How to Know When Hollyhock Seed Pod is Ripe?

When the seeds inside have expanded and the pod has split open, you know the hollyhock seeds are ready to collect. The dark, circular seeds seem to expand to release themselves. But don't worry even at that point they don't go very far from the plant, hollyhock seeds stick together and are not easily disturbed by wind or rain. But if you leave the pods on the plant for too long, the seeds may scatter, and you will lose them to the soil, that's why you need to know when and how to collect the seeds!

How to Collect Hollyhock Seeds

When the bloom's petals fall off, they expose the pod where the seeds are developing. The hollyhock seed pod starts off green and then turns brown. Shortly after this color change, the top will open and seeds will become visible. Collect ripe seed on a dry day, as soon as the seed heads turned brown. To collect hollyhock seeds, simply snap the hollyhock seed pods off the stalks with your fingers, dropping them into a paper bag.

Hollyhock seeds are rather large and flat. Inside the pod, they tend to stick together, and you'll probably have to separate them from each other using your fingernails.

When you collect hollyhock seeds, you have to be prepared to deal with hollyhock rust and pests like the hollyhock weevils.

In spring adult hollyhock weevils move to hollyhock plants where they feed on buds, tender stems and emerging leaves. The adults chew small round holes in the leaves of the hollyhock plant, and the female weevils lay eggs in the flower buds. When you collect the entire seed pod, weeks or months later, you may discover that the eggs inside have hatched. Separate the seeds from the pod and place them in a paper envelope, then seal the envelope with tape or glue. This way, if you find you brought in any weevil larvae or adult weevils, you can toss the envelope containing the hollyhock seeds into the freezer for a few days to kill them.

How Do You Prepare Hollyhock Seeds for Storage?

To prepare your hollyhock seeds for storage, pick up the seed pods one by one, and carefully crack them open so that the seeds pour out.

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• Shake the seeds into a container, and discard the pod. Once you’ve shaken the seeds out, you’ll probably find that some have stuck together inside the pod. If so, gently separate them with your fingernail.

• Place the seeds on a paper towel, let some space between each seed. 

• Put them in a warm spot away from direct sunlight, and leave them to dry for about a week or two.

• This drying period ensures the seeds will not mold when you store them because you will have gotten rid of all the moisture. 

• Turn and disturb the seeds every few days to ensure air flows evenly over the whole seed so that it can dry entirely.

• When you are ready to store your seeds, prepare some paper envelopes for them.

• Write the name of the variety and the harvesting date on the envelope, so you can easily know what is in it. 

• Put a small number of seeds into each envelope.

• Once the seeds are in their envelopes, place them in an airtight container. 

• If you are saving more than one type of seed, place them in labeled envelopes and then put the envelopes in a glass container, such as a Mason jar.

Watch How to Collect Hollyhock Seeds Video

How Long Do Hollyhock Seeds Last?

Dried thoroughly and stored properly, hollyhock seeds will remain viable for a long time, more than 7 years. But keep in mind that if you keep the seeds for many years, fewer will germinate.  So it’s better to use the seeds every year or every couple of years and harvest more, rather than keeping the same seed stock for a long time!

Collecting and saving hollyhock seeds is a straight forward process, and you can do it with almost no equipment. Just using your hands, some paper envelopes and an airtight container. Harvesting and storing your own hollyhock seeds is a great way to enjoy these beautiful flowers year after year, so it’s well worth having a go at it. Plus collecting and saving our own hollyhock seeds and growing them year after year. Means your future plants will become more adapted to your climate and growing conditions.

While they may be old-fashioned flowers. Hollyhocks are truly beautiful, and there are many different varieties that you can choose from, year after year I grow some new variety as hollyhocks definitely deserve a spot in today’s gardens due to their tall stature and large colorful blooms!

Hope you get to enjoy these beautiful flowers in your garden again next year!

Happy Gardening!

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