Rust? on hollyhocks in WA

Another garden problem near the Puget Sound. I have hollyhocks, planted from seed last year, regular tall hollyhocks, and some little volunteer seedlings. A lot of the large ones from last year have a problem where the leaves are becoming yellowed and little pieces of crud seem to be on the stems of the totally dead leaves. Someone told me this is rust and that hollyhocks get it and to just remove the ugly leaves. But that doesn't seem like a good solution as the plant could get denuded. Any easy suggestions? I'd hate to pull the plants. Thanks for any ideas.

It's bad stuff, and my own hollyhocks are really suffering from it. I am spraying them with neem but I think they're going to need something more hard core like sulphur or copper... if even that's enough.

We've barely had rain in a month; I think this is just something that hollyhocks are prone to. Sorry! I have noticed that my newer "double" hollyhocks are succumbing while my old heirloom strain "Outhouse hollyhock" is not struggling with it.

Another poster linked this site in another thread:

http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/FactSheets/hollyhockrust/hollyhockrust.htm

Hope it's helpful. Make sure you don't just leave the picked-off leaves on the ground: bag them and trash them.

Thanks for the link, Zeppy. Very informative. I see I have not done things right but will be more vigilant from now on.

You and me both!