[brooksbeefarm]

When i was a kid everyone around had hollyhocks, and i remember seeing honey bees working them about anytime you looked at them.( probably after pollen) I never cared for them then, but i think i will plant some this spring. Hmmmm, is this a flower people plant when they get older.:scratch: Another flower my aunt Lottie had growing on top of her rootcellar was Sweetpeas,you don't see them around much anymore, do bees work them? Jack

 

[Omie]

I planted lots of hollyhocks a few years ago. The first year they looked great. The second year the Japanese beetles discovered them, and every bloom was a shredded mess of eaten holes and beetles all over them. Gross!
Third year the beetles were right on top of them again ready for their feast, so I pulled out all the hollyhocks and gave up. Haven't seen any beetles since, they don't seem to go for any of my other flowers.

 

[dcross]

It's usually advised to plant something in front of the hollyhocks to hide the foliage, rust and beetles make it unsightly.

 

[brooksbeefarm]

Omie, i never thought of that:s. The japanese bettles were not that bad last year but were alot smaller than they had been in the past, They didn't attack my blackberry patch like past years, but did go after my Vitex bushes:doh:. Jack

 

[power napper]

I keep trying but the deer do not cooperate--they eat the bushes before I get flowers.
At my in laws house bees are all over the flowers gathering pollen, the house is in town so no deer there.

 

[Countryboy]

My sister has a bunch of hollyhocks planted at one of my yards. I do see quite a few carpenter bees and bumble bees working them, but my bees seem to ignore the hollyhocks. I don't know if it is because they dislike the hollyhocks or if they simply have something they like better.

 

[USCBeeMan]

Bees are fickle one year the are all over something and the next year they ignore it. It seems that it all depends on what's blooming at that moment. If they find something better, the will not even look at what was the fad the year before.