Surviving Minnesota!

[jerryse]

I will share what I know about hollyhocks . Here they grow like weeds with no care . Biennial or short lived perennial . They reseed if left alone . My cousin deadheads them and can not grow them . Grandma always always made some seed fall . I can not grow them at the lake . They need more care there . I do not let white grow or at least not reseed . Pink and yellow will throw some white ones . It is like they fade over the generations . So I do not want a patch of all white . Love the yellow . If you live where they are common the alleys in town is where you see them . Country roads also .

 

[ejb3810]

Fertile soil is required for most plants to thrive. An exception being Baptisia Australis. Hollyhocks thrive in a sunny location. I have grown them from seed here in a less than ideal location but in quality soil.
Ralphie should have no trouble growing them if the sandy soil is amended with compost. Could be composted manure of any type.
An ideal situation is a sunny location along the side of a building where the prevailing wind pushes them against the structure. Thus no need to provide additional support.
As Jerry indicates let them self sow seed and they will continue perpetually. They flower in the second year of growth.

 

[MNChickMom]

Fertile soil is required for most plants to thrive. An exception being Baptisia Australis. Hollyhocks thrive in a sunny location. I have grown them from seed here in a less than ideal location but in quality soil.
Ralphie should have no trouble growing them if the sandy soil is amended with compost. Could be composted manure of any type.
An ideal situation is a sunny location along the side of a building where the prevailing wind pushes them against the structure. Thus no need to provide additional support.
As Jerry indicates let them self sow seed and they will continue perpetually. They flower in the second year of growth.

Will Holly Hocks dominant over other plants....we are trying to kill off the "elephant ears" that were planted 15 years ago.

 

[CindyinSD]

Thist

Will Holly Hocks dominant over other plants....we are trying to kill off the "elephant ears" that were planted 15 years ago.

Thistles... thistles might do it.

 

[CindyinSD]

Will Holly Hocks dominant over other plants....we are trying to kill off the "elephant ears" that were planted 15 years ago.

I’ve “heard” other northern people complain of elephant ear infestations online and it confuses me. I grew up in central Florida and we were always replanting our elephant ears because winter killed them. Would you mind posting a photo of yours? They must be something different from what I’m thinking about.

 

[memphis]

Cindy....was just thinking the same. The elephant ears I'm familiar with are tropical. We even dig them in Memphis.

 

[CindyinSD]

Cindy....was just thinking the same. The elephant ears I'm familiar with are tropical. We even dig them in Memphis.

Oh yeah... they were some of my favorites. We had them in our back yard. I used to play under them as a kid—so cool and shady. They’re just beautiful, too. The leaves—so big and glossy. They grew clear up into the tall, tall treetops at Bok Tower (a nearby botanical garden). In very cold years (for central Florida—like sustained temps of 20* F), even those thickly massed, long-established vines die back. Because of thick ground cover they don’t usually need replanting, but I can’t imagine there’d be anything left after a typical MN winter.

 

[duluthralphie]

I think you should bake the elephant ears!! They look yummy in these recipes...

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/baked-elephant-ears/

 

[memphis]

Somebody explain these cold hardy elephant ears to me & Cindy!

Those look good Ralphie!

 

[CindyinSD]

Been outside shaving mom’s yippy little dog. He’s getting plump. First it was too cold to take him walking... then it was too muddy (then cold, then muddy... repeat times “n”) then immediately it became too hot. Bouncer is about 3/4ths done but he was getting cranky and the clippers were getting hot, and I wanted a cold soda pop. So here we are, wimping out. Gotta go finish him up.