Alcea rosea ‘Chater’s Double Apricot’

Alcea rosea ‘Chater’s Double Apricot’ is a spectacular biannual that brings elegance to the garden with its stunning, double apricot-colored blooms

The flowers appear as lush pompoms, carried high on sturdy stems that can grow up to 2 meters tall.

The leaves are tough, covered in fine hairs, allowing for high drought tolerance and heat resistance.

Blooming throughout the summer, this variety attracts butterflies and bees, while showing impressive resilience in tough conditions.

Though each plant completes its life cycle in only two/three years, it reseeds in an abundant manner – providing continous flowering through the ages.

It thrives in sunny spots with well-drained soil but can also tolerate light shade.

👨‍🌾GARDENING TIPS👨‍🌾:

• • • 🌱They prefer light, dry, and poor soils with a chalky tendency—gravelly or rocky debris soils – they grow in pavement in most French cities so the need for care here is very limited
    • ☀️ Alcea loves loves the sun
    • ✂️ Cut back dead foliage after flowering, or pull out and discard – growing as annuals or biennials can help limit the spread of rust
    • Because of their vertical structure, it’s interesting to pair them with movement – Miscanthus, Nepeta, Stipa– and bushes – Salvia, Lotus hirsutus, Santolina.

Learn move about growing Hollyhocks:

• • ENG: Gardener’s World: Hollyhocks 

  • FR: Rustica: Guide complet des Roses Tremières

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The Tales & The Botany:

🌸 Floral Morphology

Alcea rosea, commonly known as Hollyhock, produces large funnel-shaped flowers arranged in vertical racemes along sturdy stems reaching 1.5–3 meters in height. The flowers are actinomorphic and hermaphroditic, with five fused sepals forming the calyx and five fused petals forming a wide corolla 5–10 cm across. Numerous stamens are fused into a column surrounding the pistil, and the ovary is superior and bicarpellate. Leaves are alternate, palmately lobed, and coarsely toothed, with rough hairs on both surfaces. Flowering occurs from late spring through summer, attracting bees, butterflies, and other insect pollinators with abundant nectar and vibrant colors ranging from white to deep red.

🧬 Reproductive Biology

Pollination is primarily entomophilous, promoting cross-fertilization. Fruits are schizocarps composed of several mericarps, each containing multiple seeds. Hollyhocks can propagate by seeds, which germinate optimally after exposure to cold, making them well-adapted to temperate climates.

🦋 Ecology & Cultivation

Hollyhocks thrive in well-drained, fertile soils under full sun and tolerate moderate drought. They are commonly cultivated along walls or borders for their tall, vertical floral display and long-lasting blooms. Historically, leaves and flowers have also been used for their mucilaginous properties. Light pruning after flowering encourages future growth and helps maintain healthy stems.