Garden and Flowers

TREE MALLOW
With its colorful flowers, about 4 in wide, tree mallows certainly catch the eye in a border of annuals. The plants grow between 20 in and 20 in-5 ft tall, depending on the cultivar and the soil. The plants do best in loose, poor soil, where they grow less tall and flower even more profusely.

Sow directly in the garden in April-May to provide flowers from July. The flowering season lasts for a long time, and new flowers attracting all kinds of insects appear continually until October. You can pick lovely bouquets, after which the plants will branch out and flower again.

Lavatera trimestris ‘Pink Beauty’ is a very fresh-looking cultivar with a basic color that is palest pink (almost white) and purple veins ending in a purple throat. The plants grow to an average height of 24 in. Lavatera trimestris ‘Silver Cup’ has brightly colored pink flowers with deep pink veins running through them. Their height depends on their position, but averages 28 in.

Lavatera trimestris  is cultivated as an annual. Seed is sown indoors in early spring, or outdoors in late spring. The plant is reasonably tolerant of soil and aspect, but does best in a sunny location, and prefers well-drained, not over-fertile, soil. L. trimestris produces good seed in temperate climates, and sometimes self-sows.