Alcea ficifolia Las Vegas

Alcea ficifolia 'Las Vegas' is a beautiful variety of fig-leafed hollyhock, with vibrant colours and a slightly more compact habit. It is a short-lived but hardy perennial plant that is naturally resistant to rust. It boasts a long summer flowering period with variable colours depending on the plants. It produces long stems carrying numerous crepe-like flowers in unique shades of red, copper, brown, yellow, pink, and white. They charm with their lightness and somewhat naive flowering, showing elegance when placed at the back of borders or when covering the walls of an enclosed garden.

Alcea ficifolia 'Las Vegas' is a German horticultural variety. The fig-leafed hollyhock appears to be a subspecies of A. rosea, found in Iran and Siberia. It is also called A. rosea subsp. ficifolia. All these plants belong to the Malvaceae family. 'Las Vegas' is a tall, robust plant with distinctly and deeply lobed, rough leaves that resemble the leaves of this southern tree. It produces single flowers in a range of vibrant colours. The dark green foliage is healthy and disease-resistant. The flowering period lasts from May-June to August-September, starting earlier in warm climates and later in cooler climates. Each plant produces strong stems, 1.5 to 1.6m (5ft) tall, adorned with round flowers that have a crinkled and slightly translucent texture reminiscent of silk muslin. Throughout this period, they will attract bees and butterflies to your garden. The flowering is followed by numerous fruits filled with seeds that self-sow in unexpected areas: at the base of walls, in poor and rocky soils, in wall crevices, etc.

Commonly found in abandoned gardens or fallow fields in rural areas, hollyhocks are often grown at the back of borders or against a wall for protection against strong winds. The unique colours of Alcea ficifolia 'Las Vegas' will create beautiful combinations with light-flowering perennials such as gauras and perennial flax, or the grey foliage of wormwoods, for example. This plant is said to be tolerant to juglone, a substance secreted by walnut roots, so it might be possible to plant it at the base of a walnut tree, provided there is enough light.

Hollyhocks are edible plants. The flower buds can be eaten raw in salads and the young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked.

Good to know: hollyhocks are both ornamental and medicinal. Their seeds yield an oil with drying properties. Rich in mucilage, it is traditionally believed to have soothing, emollient, expectorant, laxative, and appetising properties, although milder compared to those of its cousin, the marsh mallow (Althea officinalis).