Alcea rosea Peaches N Dreams - Hollyhock

Hollyhock or Alcea rosea Peaches N Dreams is an exclusive and recent variety that is truly seductive. All summer long, it bears large floral spikes with very double pompom-shaped flowers, in a creamy yellow colour infused with peach, or raspberry pink depending on the flowers. This breathtaking perennial is often grown as a biennial and is fabulous at the back of flower beds or for lining the walls of an enclosed garden. It thrives in poor, stony soils, is drought-resistant and prefers warm, sheltered positions.

Hollyhock is also known by its Latin name of Althaea rosea or Alcea rosea. It also has many common names that have been adapted to the different accents of our French regions. Of the family Malvaceae, it is native to Asia Minor and often naturalizes in cottage gardens, wastelands, mounds of earth. ''Peaches N Dreams' is a variety with fully double blooms derived from this wildling. This unbranched, upright plant can reach 1.5 m to 2 m in height. It forms a branched rosette of stems covered with rough, rounded leaves, from which robust, fast-growing flower stems emerge. These spike-shaped inflorescences are covered with many large buds that bloom, from bottom to top, into big flowers with fully double corollas whose texture reflects the light marvellously. They are of a delicious shade of yellow or cream, tinged with peach or raspberry pink depending on the flower and the plant. Its flowering period is staggered from June to August. Their crinkled texture reflects the light beautifully. They are bi-coloured, pure white with dark maroon centres. Throughout this whole period, they will attract bees and butterflies to your garden. The flowers then give way to a large number of fruit, filled with seeds that spontaneously reseed in the most unexpected areas, which the plant seems to choose by itself: at the foot of walls, in poor and stony soil, in wall crevices, etc... 

Widespread in abandoned gardens or in wastelands in our countryside, the hollyhock is often grown at the back of beds or placed against a wall to protect it from strong winds. The fresh look and heavy blooming nature of this variety will allow you to make superb associations with pink, red or white, single or double flowered varieties. This plant is supposedly tolerant of juglone, a substance secreted by the roots of the walnut tree. One could try sowing it at the foot of this tree, especially if there is enough light. Hollyhock is an edible plant: the flower buds can be eaten raw in salads and the young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked.

Hollyhock is both an ornamental and medicinal plant. Its seeds are used to produce a siccative oil. Rich in mucilages, it is a great demulcent, emollient, laxative, aperitif and it also relieves dry coughs. Its properties are nevertheless attenuated compared to those of its cousin the common marshmallow (Althea officinalis).