The Fiesta Time Hollyhock, otherwise known as the Alcea Rosea ‘Fiesta Time’ or Hollyhock ‘Blacknight’, Spotlight Series, is a rather well known perennial plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its high maintenance and fast growth, this perennial will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, taking care of your Fiesta Time Hollyhock is not too difficult – as long as you follow our guidelines in this Fiesta Time Hollyhock Care Guide. Now let’s get started.
In order to take proper care of your Fiesta Time Hollyhock you’ll need to keep in mind the following guidelines:
- Water: The Fiesta Time Hollyhock needs soil that is constantly moist through regular watering.
- Light: Keep your Alcea Rosea ‘Fiesta Time’ in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Fiesta Time Hollyhock in soil with well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Fiesta Time Hollyhock this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Fiesta Time Hollyhock belongs to the Malvaceae family, the genus Alcea and the species A. Rosea, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Alcea Rosea ‘Fiesta Time’ (al-KEE-uh RO-zee-uh).
As with other Alcea’s, the Fiesta Time Hollyhock is a herbaceous plant, which means it will die back to the ground every year.
Growing Region
The Fiesta Time Hollyhock is a plant native to the China.
As a rule of thumb, we recommend to always keep in mind your plants’ native region and environment, since these are the conditions that your Fiesta Time Hollyhock is most accustomed to, thus where it can most favorably.
With this in mind, the Alcea Rosea ‘Fiesta Time’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 3 – 10 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5a, 5b, 6b, 6a, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9b, 9a and the ideal climate zone is between 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Fiesta Time Hollyhock is a relatively fast grower, which makes things tricky for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Fiesta Time Hollyhock actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Alcea Rosea ‘Fiesta Time’ can grow up to 5′ – 6′ (150cm – 180cm) in 5′ – 6′ (150cm – 180cm) and 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) in 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm).
These dimensions make the Fiesta Time Hollyhock a relatively medium perennial compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 24″ (60cm) free so the Fiesta Time Hollyhock can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Fiesta Time Hollyhock is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Alcea Rosea ‘Fiesta Time’ needs soil that is constantly moist through regular watering.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Fiesta Time Hollyhock in soil with well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
However, in our experience, the best solution to knowing the right amount of water for your Fiesta Time Hollyhock is with the ‘thumb’ technique. Basically, you insert your finger into the soil, and based if you feel the soil moist or dry, you determine if it needs any water, which is the most appropriate way to go about watering your leafy friend.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Fiesta Time Hollyhock prefers to have soil with good drainage properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Fiesta Time Hollyhock requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this perennial will do well as long as you keep it in full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Alcea Rosea ‘Fiesta Time’ in full and direct sun (more than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a herbaceous plant, the Fiesta Time Hollyhock will die back to the ground every year.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the summer (mid, late).
Flowers
You can expect your Fiesta Time Hollyhock to flower around the spring, summer and the fall months from April to June (spring), from July to September (summer), and from October to December (fall).
In particular, this perennial is well known for its flowers for cutting and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Fiesta Time Hollyhock produces some beautiful pink, or purple/lavender, gold/yellowpink, and white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Fiesta Time Hollyhock have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
You can expect the leaves from your Alcea Rosea ‘Fiesta Time’ to be around (> 6 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Fiesta Time Hollyhock is well known for being able to attract hummingbirds and butterflies, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for animals like rabbit, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Alcea Rosea ‘Fiesta Time’ will be fine.
Garden
How should you then organize your garden to include your new Fiesta Time Hollyhock? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.
Most Alcea Rosea ‘Fiesta Time’ owners agree that this perennial will look great in most cottage gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of coastal garden, and in informal and cottage styles.
In particular, the Fiesta Time Hollyhock’s best location within your garden is in wall-side borders, beds and borders, and in walls and fences, others use it for landscaping in a mass planting, urban garden, border, cutting garden, specimen, small spaces, container, coastal exposure, or a wildlife garden.
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Fiesta Time Hollyhock to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
