Alcea "Alcea" species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including "Bucculatrix quadrigemina" and "Vanessa cardui", the painted lady. The mallow flea beetle ("Podagrica fuscicornis") is a pest that makes tiny holes in the leaves. Cutworms, aphids, and capsid bugs use the plant as a food source in hotter and drier conditions. A number of weevils use "A. rosea" as their host plant, including "Rhopalapion longirostre", "Alocentron curvirostre", and "Aspidapion validum". The plants are also susceptible to the pathogenic fungus "Puccinia malvacearum", the hollyhock rust. A hollyhock flower, known in Japan as , was incorporated into
Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival Friends, Peter Pan, Aurora and Prince Phillip, Beauty and the Beast, Woody, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Lady and the Tramp, The Lion King, Cinderella and Prince Charming, Year of the Ram, and Troll topiaries, as well as the Butterfly Garden. It was also the debut of the Garden Rocks Concert Series, which replaced the Flower Power Concert Series. The 2016 festival introduced a Huey, Dewey, and Louie topiary, a Ranger Mickey Mouse topiary to celebrate the National Park Service centennial, Floral Sun garden, and the “Fab Five” play garden. The 2017 festival introduced a Figment topiary, re-imagined princess