Contents
The plant that we call mallow is actually called stockrose and belongs to another genus of the mallow family. Real mallows grow in the wild. The stockrose genus includes about 80 species, many of which are found only in garden culture.
Description of the plant
Mallows come from Central and Western Asia, are found in the wild in the Balkans, in southern Our Country. In culture, numerous varieties and hybrids are grown, obtained by crossing wild species.
Their height ranges from a very small Majorette Mixed, which does not grow above 80 cm, to a giant Powder Puffs Mixed, whose height is 2 m. All mallows have erect stems, first pubescent and then bare, one bush can give up to 15 shoots. Characteristic of the mallow and large regular leaves with long petioles are also pubescent. Their shape is varied and can be round heart-shaped or have up to 7 lobes. In the axils of the leaves, flowers form from 1 to 5. They have a fused base and a split top. The diameter of the flower ranges from 5 to 15 cm. There are many interesting forms with double flowers. The color palette of mallow is very diverse and includes almost all colors and shades. Flowers are usually collected in a brush, there can be up to 150 of them in it.
For the most part, mallows are perennials or biennials. There are much fewer annual plants among them.
Types
In nature, there are the following types of this charming flower:
- Rose mallow or common stockrose (Álcea rósea). Despite the name, it has flowers of various colors: from white to dark cherry almost black. The flowers are large, bell-shaped, simple, up to 12 cm in diameter. The plant is tall, can grow up to 2 m. By its nature, it is a perennial. Flowering occurs in the second year. It can remain at the landing site for several years, but at the same time it runs wild.
- Mallow wrinkled (Alcea rugosa). In the wild, it is found in the south of the Non-Black Earth Region, where it forms large thickets. It can grow in height from 80 cm to 120 cm. It blooms only with yellow flowers, their diameter is about 3 cm. It is rare in cultivation. Perennial.
- Musk mallow or nutmeg (Málva móschata). Low – up to 80 cm perennial, cultivated as a biennial. It blooms in the second year after sowing very abundantly with white or pink fragrant flowers with a diameter of about 3 cm.
- Malva forest (Malva sylvestris). A low plant – up to 1 m. Widespread in the wild. It can be an annual, biennial or perennial. The flowers are medium-sized, up to 3 cm in diameter in all shades of pink or purple. There is a garden form of forest mallow – zebrina. So it is named for the characteristic dark veins on the flowers. Not all plants of this species are frost-resistant, therefore, they are most often grown in an annual culture.
Close relatives of the mallow are very decorative lavaters, sidaltsey and malops. Mallows propagate by seeds, some terry varieties can be propagated by cuttings, rooting green cuttings. This plant is prone to self-seeding.
What do mallow seeds look like?
Seed pods are flat, rounded, formed in the deepening of the sepals, their color is grayish-brown. This is what mallow seeds look like in the photo.
At the beginning of seed ripening, the sepals turn yellow. Seed boxes are plucked and ripened indoors for a month. Fully ripe, they break up into individual seeds.
Their germination lasts for about 3 years, some flower growers have noticed that the sown seeds have a higher germination rate. Mallows of different colors growing nearby are usually pollinated, so their seeds will not repeat parental traits, but the flowers themselves may turn out to be more decorative and have an original color. Terry flowers when sown with seeds is not preserved.
Seed Reproduction
This is the easiest and most common way to grow this beautiful flower. The timing of sowing depends only on whether the grower is ready to wait for the whole season of mallow flowering or wants to please himself with her flowers already in the year of sowing.
Sowing in open ground
When sown in open ground in the first year, the plant grows a rosette of leaves; flowering is possible only in annual species.
Choose a place for planting
Mallow seeds are sown immediately to a permanent place, so its choice must be approached thoughtfully. Most species are tall. So that the wind does not break the stems of plants, it is better to plant them next to a support: near a fence or a specially made pergola. For the same reason, the place should not be strongly blown by the wind.
For comfortable growth, mallow needs a well-lit place, only some species do not weaken their flowering with partial shading. But the flower is not very demanding on soil fertility – a long root allows you to get food from the lower layers of the soil.
Soil preparation
What requirements should the soil for planting mallow meet:
- It should be sufficiently moist, but without stagnant water.
- Loamy soil with sufficient humus content is best for planting. If it does not meet these requirements, it is improved: sand and humus are added to clay, and humus or peat and clay are added to sandy soil.
- The soil is dug up on a shovel bayonet, choosing the roots of weeds.
- Under digging, humus or well-ripened compost and wood ash are introduced.
Features of seed preparation
Experienced flower growers do not recommend sowing mallow seeds immediately after harvest, although in the flower garden it often propagates on its own with fresh seeds. Having lain one and a half to two years, they sprout better. During this time, the seed coat dries out a little. To wake up the seed and let it swell, it is recommended to soak the seeds in ordinary warm water for about 12 hours.
Sowing technology
Mallow is sown at a distance of 50-70 cm from one plant to another. For low varieties, it may be less. For sowing, holes are made no deeper than 2-3 cm. 3 seeds are placed in each at a distance of about 5 cm. Sprinkle them with a layer of earth, compact it a little with your hands, and water it. So that the seeds do not die in dry weather, the soil is kept moist until germination.
Mallow seedlings have to wait from 2 to 3 weeks. If all the sown seeds have sprouted, you can simply pull out the extra plants or transplant them to another place.
Choice of sowing dates
Mallow seeds in open ground can be sown in 2 terms – in spring and autumn. Plants planted in spring will bloom the following year, as will those sown in autumn. The time for spring sowing is chosen so that the seedlings do not fall under spring frosts – young plants are sensitive to them and may die. Usually this is the middle or end of May. Autumn planting is carried out in September.
When to plant mallow seeds for seedlings
Sowing seeds for seedlings is carried out if they want to get flowering plants of biennial species in the year of sowing. Usually, mallow is sown in February or March, in order to plant grown seedlings in a flower garden in late May or early June. You can grow mallow in peat tablets, peat pots filled with soil of the following composition are also suitable:
- one part of sand and humus;
- 2 parts of garden land.
2 seeds are sown in each container to a depth of about 2 cm. The containers are covered with foil. For seed germination, it is enough to maintain a temperature of 20 degrees.
In the photo, shoots of mallow sown on seedlings.
Excess plants should be removed or transplanted into separate pots.
Seedling conditions
Mallow seedlings do not impose special requirements, caring for them is simple.
- The main thing is the maximum amount of light. Without it, plants stretch and weaken. In February and early March, they will need additional lighting with phytolamps.
- The temperature is around 20 degrees.
- Watering if necessary. Plant nutrition is not required.
In the photo, the grown seedlings of mallow, ready for transplantation.
Plants are planted in a pre-prepared place without damaging the earthen clod.
The easiest way to breed
Usually flower growers remove mallow inflorescences when it has faded. If there is no desire to engage in sowing in the ground or growing seedlings, you can leave a few flower stalks so that the seeds are sown. Only the strongest plants will sprout in the spring. They can be used by transplanting to the right place as soon as they have a second true leaf. Such plants will bloom in the year of planting. This method is not suitable only for terry flowers. In seedlings obtained as a result of self-sowing, terry is usually not preserved.
Conclusion
Mallow is a beautiful flower, indispensable when creating a garden in a landscape style. It will help decorate unsightly areas, serve as a tapeworm in a flower bed or in a mixborder, a background plant, and low species will decorate any flower garden with their long flowering.
