Part fifteen in my "Garden Series" of (mainly) "old fashioned" and easy to care for garden plants that allow us more time to geocache!
Alcea rosea is a genus of about 60 plants in the family Malvaceae or mallow family which includes the wild marshmallow. Alcea is derived from altho, the ancient Greek word for healing. It has long been thought to have medicinal and mystical powers. We commonly know Alcea (pronounced somewhere between "Al see ya!" and "I'll see ya!") as the garden Hollyhock. This tall "cottage garden" plant is native to Asia, and was brought to Europe through the middle east in the fifteenth century. Iliamna rivularis is a related species that is native to North America. It can be found east of the Cascade Range from British Columbia and Alberta to Montana, and south to Oregon and Colorado.
Hollyhocks attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. They were popular in English gardens until a fungal rust disease swept through Europe in the 1870's. Varieties that are somewhat resistant have been developed and Alcea rugosa and Althaea ficifolia are more resistant to rust. Early treatment with a more environmentally friendly anti-fungal spray can help, but I have not found that really necessary. Our drier prairie climate helps to keep the disease in check. As Hollyhocks grow from five to eight feet tall, they works best as a background plant. We grow ours along fences and walls where they can be supported.
Because hollyhocks self-seed abundantly, they brighten many back-alley gardens year after year in Saskatoon's mature neighbourhoods. We sometimes see them flourishing in the most neglected circumstances on vacant properties and abandoned farmsteads. Yet starting them from seed can seem tricky. Seeds planted in summer usually do not germinate until the following spring, and when covered with more than a few millimeters of soil, they may rot instead. Alcea seeds need a period of cold weather to break dormancy. Left to their own devices, seeds fall from the mature plant in late summer and lay close to the surface where they germinate the following spring. This is why instructions on seed packets say, "sow 1 - 2 weeks before the last spring frost". Hollyhocks are a biennial plant and do not bloom until the second year, but seeding each year, or allowing the plant to go to seed, assures perennial bloom.
Congratulations to EggsTheBest for the FTF and deadmansangel for the STF!
This cache is for the SCAR2019 event, and should not be sought out until after 5:30 pm on May 24th.
For more information about this event, see: GC84MQF Saskatoon Cache and Release 2019
See you on the trails!