Hollyhocks

[APurpleSquirrel]

I bought a hollyhock plant at a plant sale last year (meant to be a black flower version). Planted it last summer, it put on some leaves but I wasn't expecting flowers as it was establishing itself. Some of leaves died off over winter, but come spring it was doing great. Huge leaves & putting on height rapidly, flower buds emerging.
Then about a month ago, when we were still getting so much constant rain & cold I noticed orange blobs on the leaves. Looked it up - Hollyhock rust & advice was to remove the infected leaves asap. Did that, but I'm guessing the infection is within the whole plant as I noticed blobs/lesions on the stem too.
It's had flower buds for ages, none have opened yet. Been checking it regularly & removing more infected leaves - just been out & within the space of a day the whole plant has orange blobs now including the flower buds!
I'm ready to give up - surely they shouldn't be this hard to grow? I just want it to flower!!

Do your Hollyhocks get rust? Do you leave the infected leaves on? Strip them off? I see other people able to grow them; some are already in flower - what am I doing wrong?

Here are some photos - it looks ridiculous without all its lower leaves.

All my hollyhocks get rust, I just leave them be, removing only the worst affected when I remember to. The other plants I have around them disguise the issue. It is early for them to flower, I’m sure yours will come out soon. Mine are several weeks off flowering.

I never managed to grow a rust free hollyhock.

I don't like how they look with rust so stopped growing them.

I leave most of the rust too. Mine are out now; I've only ever bought one packet of seeds and then they seed themselves very easily - in the most unlikely places, where there doesn't seem to be enough soil.