Hollyhocks from seeds

I'm new at starting plants in pots. I have some hollyhock seeds I want to start in pots so they will be ready for transplanting this fall to location in flower beds. I need some guidance on how to get them from the seed to plant stage.

I understand the directions of not planting them deeper than the width of the seed. Since the seeds are fairly large I think I can handle this. Is there any preparation necessary before planting? Should I soak them? Put them in the freezer? Or can I just take one from the packet, press it into the potting soil and and put a thin layer of potting soil on top?

Do the pots need to go in a shallow box covered with glass or clear plastic so the sun heats them?
How much water is needed?
Should I start them now for transplanting in late September - early October?

Thanks for your help in advance.
Gary

hollyhock are very robust - just press them into pots and keep them moist. greenhousing them will speed germination and growth, but these guys are very hardy.

the will not bloom the first year, in fact, will not even stalk- you get a cabbagey crown of leaves near the ground, and they will sprout, stalk and bloom mid-late summer of the next year. many variety will self seed.

Thanks filem.
I lack confidence. This year everything I've tried to start from seed has not germinated. Whenever I think about buying seeds my SE [spousal equivalent] rolls her eyes and figures it for a lost cause. I hope to get them started this year so they'll bloom next year. If they don't bloom, no big deal. As long as I can get them started they'll bloom some time.

Sooner or later I'll get this figured out and probably wonder why I found it so difficult.

Gary

If you go to the articles here on DG, Critterologist has written several about seed starting, you might try those as a starting point to get you off on the right foot with seeds in general. Here's a list of the articles she's written, you'll have to scroll through them to find the seed ones since she's written others too. http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/by.php?user=critterologist

speaking from experience (worked on a farm) seeds need:

seeds are meant to grow - most will do it will he or nill he, so keep trying.

plant lots of seeds, 30 for every ten plants you want. make a little bed and shade it over with stakes and plastic, a mini-greenhouse. plan on big things, be delighted with small results.

keep them moist, never wet, shade them from the sun and breeze. TLC every day.

don't fumble around with plant food and miracle products - potting mix or clean soil works just fine, and patience and care.

try guaranteed winners- clover, daisy, sunflowers, columbines, tomatoes, carrots, chives

remember, life is mighty, and seeds are meant to grow. eventually, you can't miss. :)