Alcea 'Radiant Rose'

Alcea 'Radiant Rose': Clear Rose Pink, Built to Come Back

Bright rose-pink saucers climbing a spike taller than the mail carrier. 'Radiant Rose' is the cottage garden classic that finally learned how to come back next year. STILL HERE. STILL GORGEOUS.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Alcea rosea 'Radiant Rose'
• Common Name: Hollyhock
• Series: Spotlight Series, bred by Jelitto Perennial Seeds
• Height: 175–180 cm (about 6 ft)
• Spread: 45–60 cm (1.5–2 ft)
• Flowers: Large, single, saucer-shaped blooms in bright rose pink, opening from the bottom of the spike upward
• Bloom Time: Midsummer to late summer (July to September)
• Foliage: Broad, rounded green leaves at the base
• Features: Strong vertical accent, bred to be perennial rather than biennial

Where to Plant: Grow it along a fence, a wall or the back of a border, where its height gives the garden a strong vertical line. It suits a classic cottage garden, and it's just as good beside a modern house where a narrow bed needs something tall.

Companion Plants: Pair these rose-pink hollyhocks with blue, white and gold in a hot, dry, sunny border. Sedum 'Angelina' carpets the front at 10 to 15 cm with gold needle leaves and yellow flowers from June to August. Iris 'Immortality' opens ruffled white bearded iris at 65 to 76 cm in June and often again later. Baptisia australis adds indigo pea flowers at 90 to 120 cm in May and June. Muhlenbergia Undaunted® fills in with a fine green mound that turns into a pink-red haze in September and October.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun in average, well-drained soil. Water deeply through the first season and during long dry spells. Water the soil rather than the leaves. Hollyhock rust is the usual issue. You'll see orange spots under the leaves. Space plants for air flow, remove affected leaves, and clean up foliage in fall. Stake in windy spots. Cut spikes back after flowering for a tidier plant, or let a few set seed. Its taproot means it doesn't like to be divided or moved, so plant it in its forever spot.

History: Garden hollyhocks descend from wild plants that grow from Turkey into Asia, and Jelitto Perennial Seeds in Germany developed the Spotlight Series to give single-flowered hollyhocks in true colours that live on as perennials. 'Radiant Rose' joined the series in 2014.

Final Thoughts: Back of the border, against the shed, beside the gate. Anywhere that needs a little height and a lot of pink. GIVE THE FENCE SOMETHING TO BRAG ABOUT.