Hollyhock seeds over-wintered on the stalk Still Viable??

I am new to saving seeds, and in the Fall, my Hollyhock seeds didn't look ready (too soft and green) and I was uncertain how to harvest them. Unfortunately, I never got back to them.

Today, in my garden, I have been pulling them off the stalks. They have overwintered high on the stalk in my zone 5 garden. Most have fallen, but some were still in the pod on the stalk. Now I've got them on a paper plate in my kitchen and they look good -- very similar to what I bought from Burpee :)

Does anyone have any idea if these seeds will still be viable? Or should I just throw them away?

I can do the paper towel/baggie test, but that will take a week. This was a beautiful Chaters Double Scarlet and I got a lot of complements. (Hopefully, I will get some plants that have re-seeded on their own as well!)

Thanks for any and all help!

Lisa

No, they are just fine. This is how plants self-seed...

Thank you!

Just remember that they are biennial and this seed planted this yr will not bloom until next yr. BEV

I plant some every year.That way you do have blooms every year.Edge

I have some every yr too but I just let them do thier own thing. Did you ever make hollyhock dolls? Lots of fun. BEV

I had a GI Joe,when I was a kid.Never called it a doll.Even in the day,it was called an "action figure".So to answer your question.No,Edge

Yes, I was going to make a little garden out back where the kids play, and have tall Hollyhocks that they can get into and I don't have to worry about them being in 'my garden'. I read that the Hollyhock GI Joes were lots of fun.

We used to just lay the old stalks down on the ground right behind where they grew...... and let it happen. ;-)

I found if you start the seeds early enough (towards middle of summer) and let the little plants into believing they have been growing a whole year, they will flower the following Spring. That way you don't have to "waste" a lot of planting space with large plants that will only flower the next year...

I planted some in peat pots the end of July and have had them in the windowsill.. will let you know how they do.. So far, a few have popped up. We'll see how they last and if they bloom next spring. Anyone know how long I should wait before transplanting to bigger pots? Thanks

Hey, glad you revived this. My seeds never popped up! And I had them planted alongside commercial seed so I know it wasn't the conditions, it was my seed. Perhaps it was 'sterile'. The variety was Chater's Double Scarlet -- and there was just one hollyhock in my garden last year. Do I need 2? LOL, I'm not sure how all this works.

You should be good to go! I did some (commercial seed) late last summer and got some flowers this summer, however the japanese beatles are munching hard.