Alcea rosea Fiesta Time Seeds - Hollyhock

Alcea rosea 'Fiesta Time' is a compact variety, capable of flowering in its first year. Its double flowers are cherry-pink to red with white margins. All of these shades combine on fringed petals. This variety blooms for a long time. The flowers appear on rigid and sturdy stems, which are abundantly adorned with buds. A perennial or biennial plant, it is very easy to combine in perennial borders and looks spectacular in large pots. It tolerates ordinary but well-drained soil, even poor, chalky, and rocky soil.

Alcea rosea belongs to the Malvaceae family. It is native to Asia Minor and is often naturalised in wild gardens, fallow lands, and on mounds of earth. 'Fiesta Time' is a shorter variety, with double flowers, derived from this wild plant. It is a compact, well-branched plant that will not exceed 90cm (35in) in height. It forms a rosette of rounded, hairy, and rough leaves, from which a strong floral stem emerges. It has a rapid growth rate. Its spike-shaped inflorescences are covered with large buds that open in a staggered manner from June to August. They bloom from bottom to top, into large, double flowers whose texture beautifully reflects light. They display a cherry-pink to intense red colour, margined with white. The petals are fringed on their periphery. Throughout this period, they will attract bees and butterflies to your garden. The flowering gives way to numerous fruits filled with seeds that self-sow spontaneously in the most unexpected areas: at the foot of walls, in poor and rocky soils, and crevices in walls. Its taproot system makes transplantation difficult, especially in well-developed plants. Direct sowing yields good results.

Widely found in abandoned gardens or fallow land, it is often grown in the back of borders or against a wall that protects it from strong winds. The bright colour and compact habit of this variety will create superb combinations with light perennials such as gauras, perennial flax, damask nigellas, or paniculate baby's breath. You can try taming this 'Fiesta Time' hollyhock in large pots on a patio. This plant is said to be tolerant of juglone, a substance secreted by walnut roots, so you can consider planting this hollyhock at the base of a walnut tree, if there is sufficient light. It is an edible plant; the flower buds can be consumed raw in salads and the young leaves raw or cooked.

It is both ornamental and medicinal. Oil with drying properties is obtained from its seeds. Rich in mucilage, it has soothing, emollient, expectorant, laxative, and appetising properties, albeit attenuated compared to those of its cousin, Althea officinalis.