We are barely scratching the surface of autumn and yet it is time to start putting the greenhouse to some autumnal uses, to which end I have been sowing some flower seeds to give plants a head start on next year, namely: hollyhocks.
I live in a street that is blessed by hollyhocks. During high summer a great many gardens boast these beautiful rising spires of ruffled blooms, mostly in shades of rose, pink and peach – my favourite colours. All of this would be envy-making enough but there is more. These hollyhocks spill over into the street. They plant themselves into cracks in the pavement and walls, erupting all over the place. They are stunning, and they clearly like us and our conditions very much indeed.
Sadly, however, I have none. Last summer I tried to remedy this by plucking seed heads from the street and then sprinkling them in the garden – if they can do it in a crack in asphalt they can do it in my garden soil, was by logic. Alas, no, said the hollyhocks. Not one popped up.
And so I am trying again. This summer I have been stalking the gardens and taking notes – number 12 has a particularly lovely dark pink shade, number 31 does a good blush, and perhaps that lovely soft peach at number 43 for good measure. I have noted them as they bloomed and then peered at them each time I have walked past. As they have started to form seeds I have surreptitiously snapped off seedheads, and now I have a little pot of them.
There will be no random sprinkling this year. They are being sown in the greenhouse. Guides generally say to sow them in spring, but I am feeling a bit impatient, and also have the sense that, well… they are ready, and falling to the ground, seeking out cracks in the pavement, so mother nature must have some sense that they are alright sown now.
The greenhouse gives a serious helping hand here, as they will have a protected environment in which to germinate and grow steadily over the autumn months.
I used modular trays filled with a well-draining seed compost, and sowed quite a few to each cell, simply because I had collected so many, which means I may need to prick them out into individual pots if they all germinate. I gave them a a light covering of compost and a gentle watering and then placed them on the greenhouse bench.
Even though the days are shortening, hollyhock seedlings should develop strong basal rosettes in this sheltered setting. By keeping them ticking over through autumn and protecting them from frost through the winter, I am hoping to have a crop of sturdy young plants ready to plant out as soon as spring arrives.
The greenhouse will be particularly helpful come spring. They will be hardened by growing out there all winter and so shouldn’t mind the cooler spring temperatures, but will have lots of light. Too much warmth and a gloomy environment would encourage soft, leggy plants, but with luck these should be sturdy.
By late winter or early spring, I hope to have well-rooted plants that can be hardened off and transplanted outdoors. If all else fails, I have kept a batch of the seeds back for spring sowing, and in fact there is a benefit to doing both, as hollyhocks sown at different times will have a staggered flowering season.
Fingers crossed that I will have hollyhock flowers to rival those of my pavement cracks next summer.