The mallow

By Ms Sherry

This little jewel with its pink flowers with purple stripes is a mallow, more specifically Mallow sylvestris (french hollyhock). The gardening source I turned to remarked that it needed good drainage and preferred regular water (“The Southern Living Gardening Book”); mine, however, is growing between rocks set out as stepping stones under an overhang so it frequently misses the rain, and regular sprays from the hose. But it grows happily. When I first got a mallow from a local nursery, I planted it in a beautifully groomed flower bed with great soil; not only did it refuse to prosper, it died. Some may view this mallow as a pest because it reseeds so prolifically that there can be dozens and dozens of plants almost overnight and they can spread throughout the garden. This is not a problem to me as it is so beautiful. When there get to be too many, I just get out my pruners. Although it does best in full sun, mine is planted in part sun. Many would refer to this mallow as a pass-along plant. If you can’t find a friend with an extra plant, perhaps he/she will share the seeds.

At Master Gardeners we define a weed as “a plant out of place.” Thus, for some, this mallow may be a weed as it is likely to turn up way far away from its original home. But for me it is a joy!