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How and When to do Deadhead Hollyhocks? Hollyhocks are classified as biennials, which implies that their lifespan is limited to only two years. However, if you have ever experienced having them in your garden before, you are aware that they will continue to return year after year. How does anything like that occur?

These plants have no problem spreading themselves by sending out their own seeds. Even though I wouldn’t call them invasive, they clearly have a high rate of reproduction if the right conditions are met.Learn more about this topic (and more!) by reading our comprehensive guide to cultivating hollyhocks.
Is the use of Deadhead Hollyhocks required?
On the other hand, if you remove spent flowers from the plant, you stimulate it to produce a second wave of flowers later in the summer. In addition, if you remove the spent heads, you stop the plant from producing its own seeds. Depending on what you want to accomplish, that may either be a good or a bad thing for you.

If you want your plants to keep coming back year after year, it’s best to avoid deadheading them too early. Therefore, deadheading is not absolutely necessary; however, if you time it correctly, it can be quite helpful.
When to call in a Deadhead Hollyhocks?

Examine the tiny brown pods that are still present on the plant after the blossoms have withered away to determine whether or not the seeds have dropped. They have a hollow, cupped center that may or may not contain a cluster of black seeds, depending on the individual fruit.
If you can see the seeds but the remainder of the pod is completely dry and brown, you may give the plant a helping hand by removing the pod, scattering the seeds on the ground, or saving them to plant in another location if the pod is completely dry and brown.
How to Deadhead Hollyhocks
When you deadhead hollyhocks, the process is a little bit different from when you do the same task on peonies or another plant type that only produces a single bloom on each stalk. Each flower stalk has a multitude of flower heads, and the buds on those flower heads do not all open at the same time.
On the other hand, this step is not required, and in my experience, it has never prompted the plant to produce a second round of blooms. It just has a lovely appearance.

It is necessary to cut the whole blooming stalk off at the base after the majority of the blooms have passed their prime in order to stimulate a second cycle of blossoming on the same plant. This should be done when the majority of the flowers have died.
Getting Ready for the Colder Season
There is a difference between deadheading and cleaning up for the winter. You won’t get to watch another wave of flowers bloom.

It’s fairly difficult not to be amazed when you’re staring up at those towering stalks that are packed full of colorful blooms, isn’t it? When they are at their peaks of beauty, these traditional elements of the cottage garden are breathtaking.
