Hollyhock Rust ???

My one Hollyhock was beautiful in the beggining of the season then started losing the bottom leaves from what I think might be rust. If not what could be causing it? If it is rust what can I do to prevent it in the future. Most of the leaves are already gone.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Nett

Nett,
I,ve had this problem for years now. I try to avoid working around them, especially in wet weather. This seems to delay the rusting and except for the lower leaves, I still manage to get quite a show right around now.

I think it's something in the soil because my hollyhocks suffered from lower-leaf blight, too, and seldom developed enough to bloom. Now I've started hollies in another garden patch, and they are thriving. In the old patch, a small oval on a south wall that's been whitewashed (a factor? lime?), l've planted phlox, which are slow and spindly, too. Their lower leaves turn yellow just like the hollie's did, so now I figure it's that soil.

OOHHH Help!
I just noticed that my very special black hollyhocks are covered...COVERED... with rust! My other hollyhocks look OK. What should I do?
Thanks so much
Gwynne

here is good link: http://www.thewaterwisegarden.com/rust.htm

Mine are doing the same thing....they look horrid! Will moving them help?

To test if it is rust take a white tissue and rub the leave s with it. If it comes of f orange on your tissue then it rust, if not then it some othe r type of problem.

here a recipe that I had copie d from of f a web site and had put away for future use incase I ever needed it. I haven't trie d it yet, so not sur e how effective it is.


Healthy Hollyhock Spray


Here is a recipe I have used on occasion. I got it from a Sharon Lovejoy column in an old Country Living Gardener magazine.

Healthy Hollyhock spray

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 T. canola oil
1/2 tsp. DW soap or Murphy's Oil Soap (I used Murphy's)
1/2 cup white vinegar

Mix with 1 gal. water and spray on hollyhocks every few days. I don't do it regularly, just when I see evidence of rust starting.

Starlight, I saved that same recipe. Just found it again today and was checking to see if anyone had posted it. It says to spray it weekly and I am not that regular, but it does seem to work well!

It funny that this post just came up cuz i new i had seen about using murphys oil for somethign and couldn't rememebr where, LOl it was me that posted it.

yep, I have this receipe save din my files and forgot. Glad ya broughtit up, cuz i have tons of hollyhock seedlings that got planted late last year and they popping there heads up and with all the rain we been having before our drought is gonan play havic on them and I gonna give this a try.

I haven't tried it yet myself so not sure how it gonna work. Figure it can't hurt tomuch and if I see a problem figure just will wash down the leave s with dish soap to get the oil off.

Think I am gonan wait a bit til the seedlings get up bigger and stronger though before I give it a try. I hoping that I don't have problems.

I know last spring i had hollyhocks that had sat the whole winter in a four inch pot through frost and ice and everythign else and then i put them into one gallons and fertilize dthem and oly let them get mornign sun and they took off and in sevral weeks was up and puttign out blooms and looked beautiful. Keeping fingers crossed that i have the same kind of luck this year.