Rusty Hollyhocks

[Fleemo]

Strolling through my garden today, I discovered that my young hollyhocks *already* have signs of rust. I had to battle rust last year in this spot. What can I do to help my hollyhocks?

-Fleemo

[MC]

What would happen if you relocate the hollyhocks to another spot? It may be something in the soil.

[MC]

I just did a search at

using keywords "hollyhocks rust". Many sites await you to check them out. Rust is a disease. Go, find what others say about it.

[Pam - gardengal]

Unfortunately, rusts are some of the most difficult of fungal problems to control. and hollyhocks are extremely prone to it. If you see indications of the rust already, it is too late to spray and the effectiveness of chemical controls is extremely limited anyway. You have a couple of options - remove and destroy the plants or live with it. Removing the affected foliage (typically the bottom leaves) will slow the development of the pathogen. Plant something low and fluffy to fill the area at the bare base of the plants. The disease seldom advances far enough to affect blooming. Hollyhock rust is specific to hollyhocks and other members of that family (Malvaceae). Make sure other susceptible species are planted well away from the affected plants.

pam - gardengal

[MLEBLANCA]

I agree with Pam. Hollyhock rust is mostly cosmetic, and has never killed my plants nor affected blooms; just the older, bottom leaves. I remove these as soon as I see signs of rust, and hide the bare legs with other plants. Whitefly can get to be bad on HH also. When the rust and whitefly get too bothersome, I do not grow HH for a year. This seems to break the cycle of problems for another 3-4 years.

Emilie NorCal.

[Leon Fisk]

There was an interesting article on Hollyhocks in our paper this past Sunday (2/29/04).

It too mentioned "rust" as being a common problem.

[Stewart Robert Hinsley]

In article , Pam - gardengal writes

In my experience, it's Alcea rosea and Malva sylvestris that get hit the worst, but I've seen it on several other species. I've got another plant, labelled as Lavatera "Creticoides" until I work out what it really is, which also gets hit hard.

[Fleemo]

MC, my garden is unfortunately rather small, especially the tiny patch that receives full sun. It's here or nowhere, I'm afraid.

Thanks for the info Pam. I'll try removing the infected foliage and see how they fare. I seem to remember Neem Oil helped somewhat last year, so I'll give that a try as well.

-Fleemo

[Janice]

The other thing I've noticed that anywhere there are hollyhocks, there are weevils which is why I've never planted them. I like them, but I don't like weevils and I don't spray bugs. So, I just don't plant particular problem plants like those and roses because they seem to be particularly tasty to aphids. Plus, if it has thorns, it has to bear fruit. I realize some roses have nice big hips, but so far I've not had any particular desire for rosehips ;-) I know my dad used to make rosehip tea, but I don't like tea. Tastes like stump water to me ;-)

Janice