Bare root, seed or have you a plant?

If you want plants to flower this year you will need ready-grown plants from a nursery/garden centre. They will cost more but there is less work and they ought to flower this year. I saw a lot of double hollyhocks in the garden centre in small, square pots this weekend. Whoever grows them seems to supply a lot of places as I have seen those perennials all over the place.

If you want to grow from seed, I think you could plant some indoors now and grow them on, then harden off and plant outside in about April. For direct sowing outside my book ('Garden Flowers From Seed') says May-June onwards. I am not sure how that compares to growing indoors, my guess is that indoors would be easier. If you grow from seed this year, it will be cheaper than bought plants initially but they won't flower until next year.

Acc. to the book germination takes 14-21 days.

I am not sure about bare root.

I sowed some hollyhocks last week (indoors) and they are already up. Packet says first year flowering if sown early. Probably late summer/autumn time (bit later than usual).