I ordered 3 of these from Bluestone Perennials and planted them out in late May. They bloomed a bit later than the Indian Spring hollyhoc...Read Moreks I started under lights (and which were eaten by woodchucks but came back from roots.) First bloomer was mostly white with a burgundy eye, the other two looked more like the catalog photos. All were single to semi-double. Very tall! They hit 7-8 feet and the biggest one defied my attempts to stake it up. No rust on these, no bugs or pests to speak of tho it seemed to be a cool, dry summer here in NW Iowa (my first year here, so don't know what's normal yet.) Bumblebees were all over this plant. Never looked at one that didn't have at least 1-2 bumblebees on the flowers. These weren't as vigorous as my Indian Spring hollyhocks, which put out many more branches, but that may be because these weren't chomped down by varmints.
Smiths Grove, KY (Zone 6b) | February 2008 | neutral
I've grown Creme De Cassis for a few years. I like the flowers, they are quite eye-catching, but the plant overall looks tattered and ca...Read Moren be downright ugly from mid-summer onward. Summers in S. Central KY are generally hot and sometimes quite humid, so perhaps it just doesn't like the weather here. lol I planted it towards the back of a flowerbed so the ugly foliage is partially hidden by other nicer looking perennials.
So far no rust problems, but various caterpillars, beetles, and spider mites attack this plant every year. My plant receives full sun from sunup to around noon in its east exposure location, and receives sufficient water from a drip system. It typically gets about 5-6 feet tall and definitely requires staking.
I've enjoyed the flowers despite the overall lackluster performance of the plant. Most of the flowers are double with some singles ocassionally mixed in.
Very tall 6-8' - plant 18" apart. zone 3-9. First year blooming, with double, semi-double and singles on the same stem. Deep wine colored...Read More blooms with pink fringe.
I ordered 3 of these from Bluestone Perennials and planted them out in late May. They bloomed a bit later than the Indian Spring hollyhoc...Read More
I've grown Creme De Cassis for a few years. I like the flowers, they are quite eye-catching, but the plant overall looks tattered and ca...Read More
Very tall 6-8' - plant 18" apart. zone 3-9. First year blooming, with double, semi-double and singles on the same stem. Deep wine colored...Read More
I started from seed last year, and it bloomed this year.