Malva-lous Mallows: Right plants for the time

Sometimes we gardeners do indeed need to reinvent the wheel.

Aided by the Internet, we have access to a dizzying array of flowering plants. Our mild Mediterranean climate, allowing many of us to grow subtropicals, only widens our gardening options.

I have succumbed to such temptations, and yet, this year I’ve found myself returning to one of the staples of the English garden, and one of the truly remarkable horticultural families: Mallows.

The timing couldn’t be better, given the awareness that we need to cut down on our water usage.

Like many people, my introduction to the malvaceae family came through the hollyhock genus.

Hollyhocks

There were certainly many varieties readily available, especially in the alcea ficifolia and rosea species. Hollyhock lovers will recognize such staples as the Chater’s series, with its single, semi-double and double forms in colors ranging from pure white to pinks, scarlet and the nearly black Chater’s maroon.

Keep an eye out for some exotic varieties of this tough, short-lived perennial. Creme de Cassis features white petals with dramatic black raspberry markings and Peaches & Dreams showcases peony form double flowers.

Hollyhocks, unlike many of its malva cousins, don’t close and lose its flowers in a single day, meaning they are both prolific and less ephemeral in their charms. They are easy to grow from seed, can handle the heat and require very little water once established. No wonder they have survived the often trend-driven world of modern gardening.

Hollyhocks are but the tip of the mallow iceberg. In fact, that common name is most often applied to the successful lavatera genus.

Lavatera

When I’m stumped about what long-blooming, evergreen, drought-tolerant shrub to recommend to gardeners living in the milder zones, I’m likely to conjure up one of the lavatera species. L. Kew Rose and L. bicolor offer delightful soft pinks, while L. Barnsley, also known as gaymallow, has large 4-inch pale pink flowers offset by a dark pink eye.

These species easily reach 6 feet in height, begin flowering in late spring, then bloom continuously until late fall. Add in their attractive, shallow-lobed, grayish-green leaves, resistance to disease and versatility in the garden and they are as about as close to a wonder plant as I’ve found.

For variety, try planting one of the annual mallows.

Trimestris

L. trimestris offers a dizzying array of choices, from the snow-white Mont Blanc to the pink-veined Pink Beauty or the richly rose Silver Cup. Trimestris varieties are smaller, to 3 feet high and 18 inches wide, making them easier to blend in with other perennials. They also make wonderful cut flowers.

Tree mallow

On the other end, consider featuring a lavatera arborea “Variegata” in your garden. Stretching to 10 feet, it forms a dense thicket of green splashed, creamy white leaves, contrasted with purplish-pink flowers in the summer. This “tree mallow” also tolerates sea water to varying degrees, excreting salt through glands on its leaves, giving it a competitive advantage over inland plant species in coastal areas.

Now some readers may have a little word-association bee buzzing in their heads. Mallow, mallow “… Yes, that staple of 1950s America, the marshmallow, actually derives its name from a member of the mallow family, althaea officinalis.

In Colonial times, a confection was made from the roots of this “true” marsh mallow plant. Ancient cultures used marshmallow as a source of food, as well as using poultices from its leaves to reduce inflammation (its botanical name means “to cure”). The casual gardener can add the fabulous flowers of all mallow varieties to their dishes. Their sweet-tart flavor adds zest to fruit salads and panache to punch.

Malvacea malva

If there is a New York, N.Y., there must be a malva, malva. Malvacea malva is a smaller annual, often featuring heart-shaped green leaves. It also has distinctively open, funnel shaped flowers.

Primley Blue

M. sylvestris introduces a new palette of colors for a mallow — blues and purples. Low growing Primley Blue has striking, violet blue flowers while the 3-foot-tall Zebrina showcases pale pink flowers with deep maroon veining. An old cottage garden favorite, this upright small bush often flowers itself to death in the first year, but hopefully returns the next year from self-sown seedlings.

Malva moschata

Malva moschata is noted for its leaves having a subtle musk scent. The plant is cultivated for its seeds, which are used in perfumes. There’s another aromatic connection to malvas: They are known as Cheeses, due to the cheese-wheel shaped seedpods that remain after the flowers fall.

Malvas work as a container plant or in a sunny border and they’re popular with a variety of butterflies.

Blue hibiscus

For a unique malvacea experience, check out alyogyne huegelii. Known as Blue Hibiscus, it’s a fast-growing shrub bearing lavatera-like five-lobed palmate shaped leaves. In summer it bears solitary, funnel-shaped lilac-colored flowers.

Part of the fun in cultivating this specimen is watching the flowers gradually unfurl, with the most intense hues evident in the still tightly held buds. Like many malvas, the flowers only last a day or two, but make up for the short duration with a steady parade of new blooms.

Cape Mallow

If you want another charming, smaller-sized member of the malva family, but one that sticks around in milder climates, try anisodontea, also known as Cape Mallow, given its South African home.

Though it may reach 4 feet, it has a more slender habit and, at 1 inch in diameter, the smallest flower in the family. I’m currently growing the “Very Cranberry” variety in a container and love its showy color.

Anisodonteas prefer a slightly cooler climate than most members of the malva family, and for this reason often blooms most heavily in spring and fall. It can even take a bit of shade.

Sphaeralcea philippiana

To go really low, one of my favorite plants is the irresistible sphaeralcea philippiana. This low-growing ground cover is tough, reliable and disease-resistant. From early summer to late autumn, it produces masses of half-inch coral-rose cup-shaped flowers, floating on a bed of scalloped green foliage. It almost seems like cheating that something so useful can also be so utterly charming.

Malvas’ strength is their versatility. Whether you use one of the taller lavateras as a focal point, create a small thicket of stately hollyhocks or fold the smaller malva or anisodontea species into a mixed garden, you’ll have reliable, long-blooming and colorful additions to any planting bed.

Erle Nickel runs Blue Thumb Garden Works based in Oakland. Sends comments to him via jmorris@bayareanews group.com.