Help please - rust hollyhocks
* Red Dahlia *
Posts: 694
I have been struggling with spots on my hollyhocks and this has also now gone to the stems and the leaves are starting to lace through.
Does anyone know how to fix this, I tried to start removing the infected leaves but it now seems to have hold of both plants in total. They are 2 yrs old now and just about to flower!
will this spread to my other perennials. Any home treatments or do I need to bury something strong. Help me please I'm petrified of losing my gorgeous flowers and it will be so sad. I can take pictures if you need. Thanks
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The good news is that this proves you have excellent air quality - the problem doesn't occur in heavily polluted areas! It won't spread to anything else but other hollyhocks. The bad news is that there's nothing you can really do. I love hollyhocks but cannot grow them any longer as they get devasted by hollyhock rust every time now. It might be worth looking for resistant varieties but I've just had to give up.
They aren't very long lived perennials Red Dahlia and always seem to succumb to rust, have you thought about collecting seed from them and sowing that to keep them going. I have some double ones growing in my garden that were sown from seed last year, I have no idea what colour they are but I'm going to save seed.
first time growing them and they look atrocious last year and worse this. There is a black and a mixed colour one. Never seen a flower yet so not sure if they will actually maybe it to the full bloom this year. My mum has given me some fungicidal powder to make a spray for rust but is it worth a go or shall I give up and watch them degrade??
Picture one ...
http://twitter.com/Inky_Trace/status/352860004807741440/photo/1
picture two ...
http://twitter.com/Inky_Trace/status/352860058859761664/photo/1
It's worth giving the fungicide a chance as you have it there, it will either work or not
Mine are planted in full sun, this is the first year they will have flowered, at the minute they have no rust symptoms but I won't be surprised if it appears next year. Might be worth giving them a general liquid feed as well to give them a bit of a boost.
I agree with Paula - nothing to lose in trying the fungicide. They look close to flowering which will take the eye away from the leaves. If you try and grow them again next year, best to try a different spot in the garden - you might be lucky!
i have grown them for years, and this year they are free of rust!
But they have been attacked by snails!! so one blight or the other!!
when i rust on leaves i just removed them,didnt seem to effect the flowers.
( just make sure the fungicide won't harm insects )
Thanks all. Everything had a liberal treating of chicken pellets about 2 months ago. So shall I reapply or feed the garden again?
should I completely cut them off when flagged and see what happens next year?? never had hollyhock before so clueless, I left them completely last year and some leaves made it through winter! I did mulch with spent compost to protect from frost but only half an inch.