Regardless of whether it is perennial mallow, rose mallow or flower mallow, you can read here how you should plant and care for mallows.
The colorful variety of flowers, which extends over a happily long period from May to October, makes the undemanding mallow an extremely popular plant for garden beds, balcony boxes or planters for terraces and entrance areas.
Tip:
Because of their growth (some varieties can grow up to 3 meters high and up to 60 centimeters wide) you can also plant mallows as one Insert kind of climbing plant.
Famous mallow varieties
The finely scented mallows are all extremely popular with beneficial insects and butterflies. We would like to introduce you to a few of the most beautiful varieties here:
- Wild Mallow - common in nature, can also be planted well in a garden
- Halloween - very robust variety, mostly white flowers
- Shrub mallow - available in many flower colors, perennial, can also be cut back in autumn if necessary
- Mallow - annual, prefers a less nutrient-rich soil
- Rose mallow - popularly known as sigmars root, flowers in rose and light purple
- Tree mallow - long flowering period from June to October, also suitable as a cut flower
- Wegmalve - also called field mallow, leaves contain a lot of vitamin C
- Halloween mallow - slightly increased care effort, must be planted in a sheltered place
- Musk mallow - prefers a dry location, blooms in deep violet, when the leaves are crushed it spreads a typical smell of musk
By the way:
Some types of mallow are even used to make tea or cosmetics!
Planting and caring for mallows - This is how it's done
Plant mallows
» Site selection:
Mallows love a humus-rich, nutrient-rich, slightly calcareous soil. However, they also do well in moderately moist, loamy or slightly dry, sandy soils. In the case of the latter, however, they then have to be watered more heavily during longer dry phases, whereby waterlogging must generally always be avoided. Onlyin peaty soil, the mallow thrives very poorly or not at all!
But you should take into account that high-growing mallows need a place protected from the wind and must be tied to a secure pole or the like so that they don't snap off.
You can also use low-growing mallows (up to 60 centimeters high) to border beds, in rock gardens or to design grave beds.
» Plant:
Mallows can be planted outdoors from May (after the Ice Saints) to August (sometimes even at the beginning of September) without any problems. Many annual species produce their seeds in late summer (within the calyx), with which mallows can be grown again in spring - e.g. as a preliminary culture on the window sill from around February (germination time approx. 2 weeks).
Care for mallows
» watering/fertilizing:
Regular watering when it is dry, without causing waterlogging, and one application of complete fertilizer per month are usually completely sufficient for the mallows. If you also pluck wilted flowers as soon as possible, new calyxes will appear quickly.
» Winter protection:
Mallows need a little winter protection in heavy frost, whereby covering with garden fleece is completely sufficient.
» Pests:
The mallow's greatest enemy is mallow rust, a fungal infestation that causes brown spots on the leaves. If only a single plant is affected, you should remove it as soon as possible to prevent it from spreading (dispose of with household waste).
If several plants are affected, you must combat mallow rust. In some cases, the use of a tincture of field horsetail helps. In the case of a stubborn infestation, however, you must counteract the mallow rust with a special pesticide from specialist retailers.
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