Caring for Hollyhock Plants

I started growing hollyhocks. They bloom beautifully for about 6 weeks. Now I’m curious how to care for these 8-foot tall plants. Do I cut back the stalks to ground level or leave them? Do they need regular watering or fertilizer?

Hollyhocks are biennials or short lived perennials. Allow the leaves to grow and store energy in the roots and produce seeds for next season. Wait for the seed pods to develop, dry, open and distribute the seeds before pruning. Prune the plants back once the tops turn brown. Remove the dried up stems back to the green rosette of leaves at the base of the plant. The biennials will die after flowering while the perennial types will return next year to flower again.