Black Hollyhock Flower, Heirloom pre-1629

This variety carries a legacy that reaches back to the golden age of English botany.

• The 1629 Description: This rare, single-flowered hollyhock was famously documented in 1629 by the renowned English botanist John Parkinson. In his seminal work, Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris, he captured the intensity of its color, describing the petals as being “of a darke red like blackblood.”
• The Apothecary’s Choice: Historically, dark-flowered hollyhocks were highly sought after by apothecaries and herbalists. The intense pigment was prized for its potential use in tinctures and dyes, as well as for its striking visual presence in the medicinal gardens of the 17th century.
• The "Sentinel" of the Garden: Standing 5 to 6 feet tall, these plants have served as the sentinels of the English cottage garden for generations, providing a dramatic vertical anchor that remains unrivaled in color depth.

Black Hollyhock is a plant of refined simplicity and deep, moody color.

• The Blooms: These are classic, single-flowered hollyhocks. They feature wide, saucer-shaped petals that open fully to reveal a contrasting, bright-gold center. The petals themselves are a rich, velvety maroon-black—a "black-blood" hue that absorbs the light and provides a sophisticated contrast to lighter perennials.
• The Habit: A stately giant reaching 5–6 feet tall, it maintains an upright, columnar habit. The single blooms are airy and delicate, allowing the plant to sway gracefully in the breeze rather than becoming top-heavy.
• The Foliage: Large, coarse, and handsome, the leaves create a lush backdrop that remains a deep green throughout the growing season.

As a self-seeding biennial, this hollyhock is a master of naturalizing. It will spend its first year building a strong rosette of foliage and its second year erupting into a towering display of color.

Garden Bed Coverage: One packet from Firefly Farm & Mercantile provides enough seed to populate a 37.5 square foot bed (roughly 15' long by 30" wide) with a striking, dark-bloomed border.

"The Black Hollyhock is the ultimate 'moody' heirloom. We love it because the color isn't just dark—it's a rich, living velvet. When the morning sun hits those dark-red petals, they seem to glow from within. It’s a plant that connects us directly to the 1600s, and because it self-seeds, it will happily live in your garden for generations, returning each year to provide that classic, towering beauty."

• Sowing: Direct-sow in early spring or late summer. Press the seeds into the soil surface, as they require light to germinate.
• The Biennial Cycle: Remember that as a biennial, these plants focus on leaf growth in year one and bloom in year two. If you sow a fresh batch each year, you'll have a continuous cycle of blooms every season!
• Naturalizing: Let the tall flower spikes drop their seeds in the late autumn. You’ll be rewarded with new "volunteer" rosettes throughout your garden each spring, which you can easily transplant to your favorite sunny spots.