I live in alabama and my holly hocks are coming up this year but they are covered with black spots.
They look terrible. I see pictures of your holly hocks in Texas and they do not have black spots.
Any suggestions?
holly hocks
Haven't taken any pictures because I don't want to remember this horrible blight. Mine came up and looked great. Overnight the leaves were covered with something that would look like smallpox on a human being. Yellow spots on the top side of the leaf and rust colored spots on the bottom that look as though they are embossed. The rain has kept away any possibility of doctoring them. They gave a good try at blooming but as of this morning most of the blooms have wilted and are actually slimey. The low temps and continuous rain has changed my flower garden entirely this year. We need the moisture so desperately to fill the lakes and aquifers that I know when the sun comes out and we have our usual Texas oven, everything will most likely go back to normal. Just waiting. My report is from Dallas Texas. Maybe others across the state are having better luck.
Here in alabama we have had no rain. I thought that they were just dry but I have been watering them.
How can I doctor them or is it too late?
gljns,
You should post some pictures of your hollyhocks. As Lou stated it has been a very wet and cool year here for us. Hollyhocks are very susceptible to all kinds of fungal infections - I have had terrible infections exactly of the kind Lou decribed, with little "spore" looking spots on the leave with corresponding raised brown spots on the undersides of the leaves. Early treatment of your hollyhocks with an antifungal, as you can find to treat roses, just as they emerge from the ground, and repeat treatment a couple of weeks later , is the best prevention. Black spots also sound like fungus but hard to tell without visually identifying it. If you've been watering heavily, even though you haven't had much rain, you could still have fungus. Yu could cut off the affacted parts (even if that means cutting the whole stalk to the ground) and treat aggressively and your hollyhocks may rebound and still flower, though yout stalks will be smaller. I have had success doing that.
Here is an example of typical rust on the undferside of the leaf - the spots on the top of the leaf are not raised like this:
This is also rust
My hollyhocks have rust too. They get it every year. I've heard that they are just severely susceptible. Mine bloom anyway, though, and each flower lasts several days. The flowers have been pretty this year despite all the rain--as long as I don't look at the foliage! But, when the flowers drop off, they turn slimy and look like something from Alien (ewwww).
I'm an organic gardener, so I don't have any really good solutions. Normally, I spray with neem oil and soak the ground with corn meal, and the combination at least holds it at bay. But it hasn't been possible to keep up with all this rain.
When the rain clears up, I'm going to try the milk spray. I part milk to 10 parts water and drench the plant. Repeat until the rust is gone. Can take more than 21 days. I'll probably spray every 3-4 days in the evening.
My neighbor taught me about the milk. It does work. Just has to be dry for at least a little bit.
This is last summer when we were in a drought. Afraid that may be ahead of for the rest of this year yet. Feast or famine.
Steve, should I cut down the plants that are bent over and ailing or just hope they recover enough to set seed. I sure don't want to loose this strain. The ones in the above picture came from one little packet of mixed seed and they continue to reseed themselves. If there is a kink in the hose, I don't know what to do.
Lou,
If you are worried you may not get flowers if you cut them (to produce seed), go ahead and leave a stalk growing and save a bunch of pods from that flower when they dry. Hollyhocks thankfully are very easy seeders and just a few flowers will produce tons of seeds. I have saved the seedpods and then planted them and they did fine. I think the ratty foliage on infected plants bothers me too much, but you will get more flowers if you just leave it - if it doesn't annoy you too much.
the slimey part of the flowers that have bloomed is my concern....I don't know if it even can make a seed pod. We were predicted to be dry for a couple of days and it rained over 1/4" just a couple of hours ago and looks as though we are in for more. Going to a funeral this afternoon. Hope it holds off for a while for the families sake. Thanks, Steve.
Here is a thread from the "other" garden web, that I found to be very helpful. Hope you guys will too.
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/organic/msg0614523120474.html
Looks like I've been doing things all wrong. Guess I'll try something different when mine finish blooming.
My hollyhocks drowned as well. Two that I potted up and left in a container now look like someone drew little yellow lines on the leaves. and they don't look so good, these were under the porch and not out in the rain.
Yeah, what are those yellow lines? That's something besides rust. Anyone know what it is?