Alcea rosea Pleniflora Rouge - Hollyhock

The Alcea rosea 'Pleniflora Rouge' is a splendid variety of hollyhock with its immense floral spikes adorned with somewhat theatrical, very double pompom flowers in a rich carmine red colour. They bloom throughout the summer and are arranged on stems often exceeding 2m (7ft) in height. This countryside perennial plant, often cultivated as a biennial, is emblematic of English cottage gardens and is wonderful at the back of borders or for covering walls. It tolerates poor, rocky soils, withstands drought, and prefers warm, sheltered locations.

The hollyhock is also known by its Latin name Althaea rosea. Belonging to the Malvaceae family, it is native to Asia Minor and often naturalized in slightly wild gardens, fallow lands, and mounds of soil.

The Pleniflora hollyhock is a variety of wild plant from which with fully double flowers derive. It is an upright plant, generally unbranched, which can reach heights of 2m (7ft) to 2.50m (8ft). In the first year, it forms a rosette of rounded leaves with 5 or 7 lobes, from which a robust, slightly leafy floral stem emerges in the second year, and grows very rapidly. The spike inflorescences are covered with large buds that open in a staggered manner from June-July to August-September, from the bottom to the top, into large ephemeral double corolla flowers, 8 to 10 cm (3 to 4in) in diameter, with a fine crepe-like texture that allows light to pass through. They display a rich colour, and their undulations reveal shades of purple, pink, or violet. 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 in the most unexpected areas, including at the foot of walls, in poor and rocky soils, in wall crevices etc.

Commonly found in abandoned gardens or fallow lands in the countryside, the hollyhock is often cultivated at the back of borders or against a wall that protects it from strong winds. The carmine pompoms of this variety can be combined with pastel shades (white, pastel pink, or candy) or darker shades (black, purple, violet), whether single or double. Hollyhocks pair well with yarrow, bugloss, stachys, mulleins (verbascums), agastaches, against a wall, or leaning against a conifer hedge. This plant is said to tolerate juglone, a substance secreted by walnut roots: if there is sufficient light, this plant could be placed at the base of the tree. The hollyhock is an edible plant, with the floral buds being consumed raw in salads and the young leaves either raw or cooked.

The hollyhock is both ornamental and medicinal. Its seeds are used to extract an oil with drying properties. Rich in mucilage, it has soothing, emollient, expectorant, laxative, and appetizing properties, although less pronounced than those of its cousin, the Marshmallow (Althea officinalis), used by herbalists.