Alcea rugosa

Alcea rugosa is a superb but rarely encountered hollyhock from Russia that’s been one of the best performers in our display garden. From an evergreen basal rosette of corrugated grey-green leaves arise tall, sturdy, 6-7′ spikes beginning in spring. The spikes of Alcea rugosa are clothed along the bottom half with typical hollyhock foliage, while the top half is adorned all summer with large, 4″, single, buttery-yellow, classic mallow flowers attractive to hummingbirds and edible for humans. For us, Alcea rugosa has proven to be a reliable and disease-resistant perennial compared to other hollyhock species.