Hollyhocks are sturdy and should settle in with a little help

Q: I have questions about planting hollyhock seeds. We have a space in the backyard, where wildflowers come up each year, where I’d like to plant them. That space gets full sun daily. I’ve read to mix them with sand so they spread more evenly, or soak them in water for a while before planting them. What do you recommend on the planting? And what care do they need after? — C.F., Albuquerque

A: Here’s what I think. First, I want you to recognize that most hollyhock seed is what I’d call wind blown. When a hollyhock matures it spreads its seeds with help from the wind and a lot grow where they fall.

So I think you’ll want to rough up the soil in the spaces where you desire the hollyhocks to grow. A hand rake is good for this type of soil “fluffing.’’ Once you have the soil fluffed, dampen it. Then sprinkle the seed in those spots. Mixing with sand or soaking the seed is OK. Especially with the sand so you can see where you’ve chosen to spread the seed.

Next, using the flip side of a stiff-tined rake, tamp the seeded areas firmly so the seeds get “cemented” in the soil. You can even walk on those spots so the seed gets depressed into the fluffed up soil. In other words, you’re not burying them, you are just having them be able to grab the soil, keeping them from being blown away. You can sprinkle the barest amount of garden soil or more sand to cover, but don’t bury the seed so to speak.

Then, you’ll want to keep the areas dampened. Light sprinkles of water, perhaps daily for the first ten days to two weeks, will encourage the seed to germinate and grab hold of their new homes.

As to care for the coming growing season, if you’ve been able to keep wildflowers growing in those spaces, that’s what you want the hollyhock to get adapted to. Keep tabs on the young plants and if they look a bit thirstier that the surrounding plants, use a watering can to offer a bit more water. Hollyhocks are pretty sturdy so they should fit right in with the others that you have growing, just monitor them for some extra care so they settle in for you. Good luck!

Dear readers: I was talking to my friend and she’s so excited that the bulbs she’d planted last fall are popping up. She asked if it is too early to be seeing them and what care should she be offering the young plants now. I suggested water.

With the stout winds we’ve been experiencing lately, the amount of water being wicked away from the ground is immeasurable. By offering a watering to the newly-planted bulb bed, those youngsters will be more protected.

I explained that if the temperatures turn cold again, by having the soil wet the bulbs are more protected.

She laughed and said that “certainly we aren’t going to have any more frosty weather” and I chuckled saying, “well, I wish I had your crystal ball!” She laughed again, but the “seed” was planted in her brain that maybe it could get that cold again.

I suggested that if it was going to get really frosty at night, she needs to water before sunset. Now, if it does get really cold, 25 degrees or lower, consider tenting the bed with a sheet of plastic or covering the bulb clumps with upturned buckets or garbage cans to keep the frost off the plants.

Notice I didn’t say lay a covering directly on top of the plants. I said tent. You don’t want any covering touching the plants as the frost would still be able to damage what’s underneath by touching.

Having left the fickle month of February and heading into March, which seems to have come “in like a lion,” keeping things watered and offering protection will be the smartest things you can do for the next several weeks.

Happy Diggin’ In!

Tracey Fitzgibbon is a certified nurseryman. Send garden-related questions to Digging In, Albuquerque Journal, 7777 Jefferson St. NE, Albuquerque, N.M. 87109, or to features@abqjournal.com.