Anyone grow hollyhocks?

A friend dropped off some seed from her hollyhock. Anyone else here grow it? Have any advice? Okay to plant now?
Lise

I am by no means an expert on Hollyhocks, but we have grown them here. I planted them from seed several years ago. A lot of them came up that year but never bloomed. They grew larger the next year and we had a few blooms on small plants. This year there were some very large plants with lots of blooms. Yet there is still the majority of the plants that originally came up that are still small, and have never bloomed.

There......you now know all my experience in Hollyhocks.

I think you get more rain in San Antonio, so they may do better there.

We're a little farther north of Austin...my grandmother always planted hollyhock seeds with the bluebonnets 'to catch the rains'. I have found she is right...more plants, bigger blooms, etc. ...for some reason, I can't count on reseeding hollyhocks here. I also have tried to sow the heirloom or what used to be called outhouse hollyhocks in the full sun and most of the hybrids (chater's series) in morning sun only....hope this helps.

I had them for some 5 years. They are biennial. Grow one year and bloom the next. Once they get started they are always blooming because they self seed by the ton. One of the best of the heirloom plants I have found. Too much water causes them to"rust" and that is a pain. Don't "plant" the seed. Just pitch like chicken feed in early Spring. From then on they are self sufficient. Odd that they begin blooming at the bottom of the stem and go up. One year I had doubles and triples, looked like carnations. Lots of bang for a $2.29 pkg of seed. Same with balloon flowers, pitch the seed and run before they over take you.

Christy, did you grow them in sun or shade or what?

Full sun.

I think I might have to try some!!