Oh my goodness, look at the height of that! Is it taller than a person?

without getting a tape measure out its aprox 8 to 9 ft tall with dark purple almost black flowers, its amazing to watch it grow

Oh my, that IS tall. And I saw the flowers were dark, but thought it was shadows. Is the dark color a new one?

they are strange to look at as they appear to be very dark purple almost black with a yellow staymen in the centre thats full of pollan, and as one dies or drops off then another opens up,,You can see the green ball appearance of the new buds forming

Oh yeah, i can. There's a lot more flowers on the way.

I used to make dolls out of Hollyhocks. The bloom upside down was the dress and a bud was the head. Boy, does THAT take me back 60 years!!! A black hollyhock is unusual, though, I think. Usually they're pink, white, or red. I hope you can keep it supported until it reaches it's full growth, Budgie!!

i take the buds u see in the picture as the hollyhock is going to grow even taller, but the colour is amazing, they leaves look black but the closer u get to them they look a dark purple with a pale yellow almost white pollen bud in the midle, and yes i have poles to keep them stable

More flowers opning day by day and it now stands at 9ft 6inch and still a lot more buds ready for flowering