How do I permanently kill my hollyhocks?

[JacobReesMogadishu]

They’ve spread and taken over. Last year I had to squeeze past them to get in the house. They’ve seeded all down the side of the house and now in next doors front garden as. Well, growing up between the jouse wall and concrete.

So far this year I’ve chopped them all down twice. They’re growing back again....if I just keep chopping will they get the message? I can’t get to the roots of some of them as under concrete.

Are you sure they’re hollyhocks? If it’s as bad as you say then I would use a weed killer spray.
I’m also quite envious because the slugs finish mine off here? Do you want me to rehome you some?

Oh jealous! You could offer them for free at collection in any local group.

Give them to your neighbours.

Have double checked a picture and definitely hollyhocks. They grew up to the 1st floor bedroom windows last year! Will try weedkiller.

Post a pic of them OP. That's giant for hollyhocks, I'm very suspicious it's something else. Also hhs shouldn't be hard to just pull out. So if they don't just pull out easily I think they could be something else.

If they have rooted under paving I can see how they might not pull out the way they usually would. If you keep chopping them off they'll give up eventually but it might take a couple of years if they have big root systems under the path - you have to starve them out by taking off the leaves so they can't feed, and the flowers so they can't seed.

My mum has a giant multi stemmed one growing in her drive and she rather likes it - they do seed themselves about merrily if they like it somewhere!

Give them to meeeeeeee! Mine all got slugged. They're quite easy to pull up though, yours must have been there years. Could you put something down to suppress the new growth?

I'm also intrigued to see a pic, I've seen them grow tall but not as tall as a top floor window!

Hollyhocks do grow tall. I have one that is 12 foot tall. I dug it up and thought I had got all of the roots but it’s back again this year with loads more flowers

A systemic weedkiller, ideally with glyphosate as the active ingredient. Round up is one. Cut down to the ground then wait for it to grow a couple of leaves then spray. Then spray again 14 days later even if it looks a bit sick. Make sure you spray on a still dry day or the spray will drift onto other areas. Needs to be dry for a good 4 hours afterwards. Round up with only affect the plants whose leaves it touches. It does not affect the soil in anyway. It is also pet and child safe once dry though obviously neither should be eating stuff from the garden anyway really.

Pour boiling water on them. If it works for paving weeds, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work on your hollyhocks!

Here they are, currently short as only a few weeks growth. Normally get nice pink/ red flowers

Yeah that looks hollyhockish as far as I can tell from foliage only, but such a small patch? Are they really such terrible thugs that you must eliminate them? Have you got a plan to put something more restrained into that spot? They look so innocent, growing there minding their own business...

That's just one patch, it's right by my front door and they easy get 9ft tall and then bend over and you have to limbo under them. They're all down the side of my house and I can't get through with my bike.

Will try Roundup. Thanks.

Any recommendations btw of what else to plant would be welcome. Something with good ground cover to stop the weeds growing!

I’m just wondering if it’s Lavatera, which is both a wild and cultivated plant. The leaves are very similar to hollyhocks. They have pink flowers, again similar to hollyhocks, but do seem to spread more profusely.
Picture 1 Lavatera ( Malva). Picture 2 Hollyhock

Picture fail!

Send them to me, my tortoises love them!!

Well I did plant about 3 Hollyhock bulbs about 15 years ago and that's what grew....and now they're just self seeding.

And looking at those 2 pictires they're much more like Hollyhocks.

Seems like Hollyhocks then. Don’t get any Lavatera

They do look like 'ollyocks' as my gardener (who also says 'ruddydemdrons') likes to call them. Can you not just cut the overhanging ones back as and when? And cut them completely back before they start seeding?