Replace Hollyhocks with?????

I have an area next to a 6ft. chain link fence about 15ft in length and have planted hollyhocks there for three years and I am sure that I need to put something else there this year but don't know what to plant. I loved the hollyhocks because they were so colorful and they grew all the way to the top of the fence. Can anyone tell me what I could plant there to replace them that would also be colorfull and tall? It is still freezing at night here but in the 70's during the day so will be able to plant soon. Hope someone can help me. I am a new gardener.

Sunflowers. There are some Cannas that get pretty tall. Trumpet or Orienpet Lilies. Morning Glories, Sweet Peas, Clematis.

Beaker thank you for the help. I had thought about sunflowers and will probably do them as they do well in our hot summer weather. I did have Morning Glories when I first moved here and then found out that they are illegal in Arizona and you cant buy any seeds here. They came up in my vegetable garden a couple of years ago so must have been mixed in with some of the vegetable seeds. I appreciate any advise I can get so thank you.

I'm no expert, but if you love the Hollyhocks so well, why don't you just amend your soil a bit and replant. If you don't have access to good compost, Miracle Grow has a peat mix now that has fertilizer in it. I used it last year for the first time and I was pretty happy with the results. I just spaded it in wherever I happened to be planting.

I'm a canna addict and I have a brother in Phoenix who is growing a lot of my cannas. He just loves them. Many varieties get 6 ft tall or taller, such as:

Bengal Tiger
Tropicanna
Red Stripe
Scarlet's Rib
Richard Wallace
Robert Kemp
Omega
Musafolia
Black Knight
Florence Vaughn


Just to name a few. They are tough and grow well in my hard red clay. They love water, but they have been drought and neglect tolerant in my gardens. They make a beautiful living fence.

Rudbeckia nitida-I'll send you some seeds if you want them.

I would love to do the hollyhocks again and may try the miracle grow with fertelizer but my sister wants sunflowers so I am not sure what I will plant right now. I have a canna that is planted near my front porch and it keeps getting larger. It is kind of like my Iris. Is that what they are supposed to do? I would love some of the Rudbeckia nitida seeds if you tell me something about them. Will they tollerate our hot summers? I am new yo gardening and love flowers

Rudbeckia nitida is a really tall black-eyed Susan. The mother plant is almost 6' tall. The plant is very sturdy (I didn't need to stake it), with many branches of flowers, flowers from June-frost, and grows well in hot, dry weather. D-mail me if you want seeds.

Here's a link to the DG plantfile:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/54417/index.html

I agree on Rudbeckia. I got one last year and want to grow others. See picture. I should follow with my wife bought this one and I think that is what it is.

What a stunning picture, Soferdig!

How about some of those tall, late-blooming Salvias. Good looking plants all season long. S. Leucantha; S. mexicana 'Limelight'; etc.

Oh I would give just about anything to have hollyhocks growing in my yard. I think they
are so beautiful and I love the old heirloom flowers.

Last month my DH built me a white picket fence about 15' long so that I could grow
hollyhocks and other heirloom plants in front of it and because I am new to gardening
I didn't realize that it takes 365 days from germination to bloom for the hollyhocks!!!
Talk about you could knock me over with a feather!!! I thought I could sow the seeds
the seeds right after the frost (which has been Jan. for me) and have flowers this
year, NOT!!!! I have yet to find any that I can plant.

So when is the best time for me to sow my seeds so that I can have hollyhocks
next year?

Angela

Texas Blue Bonnet I planted seeds and had big beautiful flowering plants the same year. I think that I planted them in February or March and had sprouts in just a month or so. They have come back every year and bloomed beautifully but last fall in anticipation of planting something else, I pulled them all up so will start from seed again this year after ammending the soil with Miracle Grow. I'm really not sure of the month I planted them and it could have been later but I know that I had flowers in just a short time. I am new to gardening too so am no expert on the subject and maybe someone else could give you better advice

I planted Hollyhock Summer Carnival which is supposed to bloom the first summer. You might try those. I winter sowed them

Karen

I am up here in the cold north and last year I started Hollyhocks inside in February and put them out when it was warm enough I think mid May. A few bloomed last summer, all looked very healthy and I anticipate lot's of blooms this year. More grew than I expected and this summer I will need to find a new spot for some.

Thanks everyone for your comments!!! I think I am going to try some after all.
I know I should have winter sown the seeds but I think I am going to try sowing
some seeds this week and see what happens and then this fall I will will sow
more. I just think they are such beautiful flowers and can't wait to have some
growing in my garden.

Angela

Angela, pop the hh seeds in the freezer for a couple of weeks before sowing. You'll get better germination.

I usually just scatter my seeds directly into my beds during Jan and Feb and let Mother Nature take care of it for me. No mess, no fuss. Effortless gardening for the "lazy" gardener. (I'm not REALLY lazy. I just have way too many projects and have to cut corners wherever I can.)

Oh thank you so much for the advice ButterflyChaser. I am so excited about growing
so and looking forward to when I have some in my garden.

Sensation cosmos always seems to dress up a fence and attracts butterflies.