Hollyhocks grow best when they grow upright. They send tall spires up from their bunches of large leaves and the blooms are held high in the afternoon sun. However, when you get an unexpected windstorm in the summer, you can end up with a very different hollyhock growth pattern – the creeping hollyhock. I tend to let plants fend for themselves. I provide good soil, water, and some protection from plant predators (the dogs chase the deer away). But I don’t like to stake plants. I want them to stand on their own roots and reach their strong stems skyward. Sometimes this doesn’t work at all. The wind that blew up on that summer day, blew down the Hollyhocks. The cosmos and the mallow were flattened as well. I thought of just cutting everything back and giving up. I tried to straighten some of them, but that caused more damage. I left them sprawled on the ground, a most undignified position for a hollyhock.

I shouldn’t have worried about them, they adapted to their new situation. The main stem stayed stretched out on the ground, but the side branches turned and grew upward. Instead of one 7 foot tall spire, there were several 3 to 4 foot tall spires of bright open flowers. I’m almost thinking of doing this next year. I could leave some upright and peg others to the ground where they would be safe from summer storms. Or I could actually stake them, so they would stay upright no matter what.