Mallow(Alcea rosea), also known as rose mallow or marshmallow, is a two-year-old plant that has long been associated with the countryside. This tall plant with showy flowers comes in many interesting varieties, which allows you to match the mallow to a variety of plantings. We suggest whatgrowing mallow in the garden looks like , what are the requirements of this plant and whatmallow diseasescan happen. We also present the most interestingmallow varietiesrecommended for gardens.
Garden mallow - Alcea rosea
Fig. pixabay.com
Garden mallow - description
Mallow comes from the Mediterranean regionAncient Greeks and Romans decorated their gardens with hollyhocks, appreciating both their decorative and he alth properties.
Mallow is a short-lived perennialthat can live up to 4 years. Due to abundant flowering in the second year of cultivation, it is treated as a biennial plant. In the first year, the mallow forms large, palmate, rough leaves. In the second year, a tall stalk grows between them, and in June,decorative mallow flowersappear on its upper part on short stalks.
Garden mallow - varieties
Thanks to the efforts of breeders, there arevarieties of garden mallow on the market with a variety offlowers (straight or full) and fantastic colors, e.g. salmon, burgundy, purple or black. Due to the structure of flowersgarden mallow is divided into the following groups :
- Fimbriata flore pleno- group of mallow with full or semi-double flowers and corrugated petals. The flowers are rarely embedded on the stem.
- Scottish Mallow- plants reach about 200 cm in height. The flowers are hemispherical with petals of equal length.
- Mallow large full- reaches even 300 cm in height. The flowers in the outer whorl are longer than the inner ones.
- Malwa Chaters- grows up to about 180 cm in height. It is characterized by full, pompom flowers forming a compact and dense inflorescence.
Garden mallow - Alcea rosea
Fig. depositphotos.com
Among each of these groups there are many interesting varieties of mallows. Below we presentvarieties of garden mallowespecially well suited to home gardens and allotments.
Garden mallow Double Apricot- decorative variety growing up to 200 cm in height. It blooms with full peach flowers from July to September.
Garden Mallow Double Purple- Creates large green leaves, from which a floral shoot emerges at the top, which develops full purple flowers from July to September.
Black Berry Mallow- reaches 120-150 cm in height. It produces full, maroon flowers. It looks great in the company of white-flowering plants.
Garden mallow Creme de Casis- grows up to 200 cm. The flowers of this unique variety are full and two-colored - white and pink.
Garden Mallow Chater's Chestnut- as the name suggests, this variety belongs to the Chaters group, produces semi-double chocolate flowers appearing from June to September. It looks best when planted in groups. It grows up to 180 cm.
Garden mallow - application
Mallows are associated with an idyllic, rustic atmosphereand can be seen in rural, naturalistic and romantic gardens. Most often they are planted singly or in groups near the walls of buildings or fences, where they form a beautiful green screen.
Also in flowerbeds they look impressive, planted in the back so as not to obscure lower plants, such as: daylilies, sunflowers, asters, bells, phloxes, aconite, cosmos, lupine, delphinium, lavender, rudbeckia, yarrow, foxglove, borough or echinacea.
Garden mallow - Alcea rosea
Fig. pixabay.com
Mallow - cultivation
The garden mallow cultivation siteshould be quiet and sunny. Mallow can also cope with light partial shade, but its flowering will not be so spectacular.Mallows are fully frost-resistant , however, young plants in the first year of cultivation should be protected against cold and drying winds, shielding them with non-woven fabric, cut conifer twigs or dry leaves.
Mallows do not have high demands on theposition and will grow almost everywhere. They prefer permeable, humus, fertile soils with a pH of 6-7. The best substrate for mallow is sandy loam soil, which retains sufficient moisture. Mallows bloom poorly on too heavy and moist soils.
Garden mallow - Alcea rosea
Fig. © PoradnikOgrodniczy.pl
We plant mallow for flower beds in autumn (September to October) or spring (April).Mallow is planted every 50 cm.Mallow flowers the next year or two years after sowing the seeds. It can grow for 3-4 years in the same position, but it blooms less and less every year. We can collect its seeds and sow in a new place, but the mallow often cross each other and may not repeat the features of the mother plants.
Garden mallow - Alcea rosea
Fig. AnRo0002, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
Regularwatering the garden mallowis only necessary for young plants. Older specimens should be watered only when the ground clearly begins to dry out (periods of drought, hot weather). Remember not to overflow the plants and not to wet the leaves while watering. Mallows are best watered directly on the ground, making sure that the water does not splash on the stems and leaves. Sprinkling the leaves makes mallow easily susceptible to fungal diseases.
Fertilization of the garden mallowshould be moderate. Before planting, it is worth mixing the soil with compost, as plants respond well to organic fertilization. During the growing season, it is enough to feed them 2-3 times a season with a multi-component universal mineral fertilizer.
Mallows growing up to 2-3 m tall require support . If we have not planted them next to the walls of buildings or fences, we should tie the plants to supports in the form of poles.
Mallow rust - symptoms on the upper and lower side of the leaf
Fig. Annagsp18, forum.PoradnikOgrodniczy.pl
Garden mallow - diseases and pests
Mallow rust- mallow disease caused by the fungus Puccinia malvacearum. Initially, small, round, yellow spots appear on the upper side of the leaves, on the petioles and stems, which gradually increase in size. Heavily infected leaves turn brown and die. On the lower side of the leaves, mycelium spores are formed in the form of red-brown lumps and growths.
This mallow disease is very difficult to combatRemove the sick leaves and then spray them with the fungicide Scorpion 325 SC. Spray the entire plant thoroughly, spraying 2-3 times every 2 weeks. Spraying can be done alternately with the natural Limocide preparation.
Mallow fleas- these garden mallow pests are small beetles gnawing holes in leaves.The most effective way to combat these pests is to cover the plants with agrotextile or a dense mesh. Sticky boards covered with a substance to which beetles stick to it can also be used. A good natural way to get fleas is to dust plants with bas alt flour.
Powszelaczek malwowiecandcheckerabnik malwowiec- caterpillars of these moths feed on mallow, they feed mainly on young leaves or flower buds. As soon as we noticecaterpillars on mallow , we can use natural remedies to combat them, preparing ourselves a decoction of mugwort or tansy. We spray every week until it is effective. If there are a lot of caterpillars, you need to use plant protection products, such as: Karate Zeon 050 CS, Karate Gold or Deltam.
MSc Eng. Anna Błaszczak
