Musk mallow

Sun

Full sun is best; tolerates light shade but may flower less and lean.

Water

Water regularly while establishing; established plants tolerate short dry spells. Avoid persistently wet soil.

Soil

Well-drained soil, including sandy, chalky or moderately fertile loam; tolerates acid, neutral and alkaline conditions.

Height

2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m)

Spread

1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m)

Flowers

Summer to early autumn; pale pink, five-petalled flowers, with white-flowered forms also available.

Foliage

Green leaves, rounded and shallowly lobed near the base, becoming deeply cut and feathery higher on the stems; sometimes faintly musky when crushed.

Growth

Fast; seed-grown plants may flower in their first year if sown early.

Care needed

Low

• Pollinators
• Cold hardy
• Wildlife
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1 ft (0.3 m)

2. After 1 year

   1.7 ft (0.53 m)

3. After 2 years

   2.5 ft (0.75 m)

   full size

About 2 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Native to

the UK

In the garden

Spreads vigorously: plan to contain it.

Growth rate

Fast

• Water new plants during dry weather until their roots are established.
• Avoid rich feeding; excessive fertility encourages floppy growth.
• Keep mulch clear of the crown, especially where winters are wet.
• Support leaning stems with twiggy branches in exposed positions.
• Remove unwanted seedlings while small, before their roots become established.

Pruning. Remove faded flowers through summer to extend flowering and limit self-seeding. Cut dead stems to ground level in late winter or early spring, or after flowering if you need to prevent seed production.

Early spring

Cut back remaining dead stems and remove unwanted seedlings.

Spring

Sow seed or plant young plants in a sunny, well-drained position.

Late spring

Add discreet twiggy supports if stems begin to lean.

Summer

Deadhead regularly and water new plants during prolonged dry spells.

Late summer

Allow a few seedheads to ripen if you want replacement plants; remove the rest.

Autumn

Plant out young seedlings where winters are mild and soil drains freely; otherwise wait until spring.

• Plant in small groups through cottage borders with cranesbills and catmint for a soft summer display.
• Use among ornamental grasses and yarrow in informal, meadow-style planting where self-seeding is welcome.
• Place beside paths or low fences where its finely cut foliage and open flowers can be seen closely.
• Combine white-flowered forms with white daisies and silver foliage in a pale evening border.

Garden styles it suits: Cottage garden, English country, Wildflower, Pollinator garden, Romantic rose garden and Pastel border.

Plant it with: Catmint, Hardy geranium, Yarrow, Oxeye daisy, Meadow sage and Tufted hair grass.

Wildlife: The open flowers provide pollen and nectar for bees and other visiting insects.

• Mallow rust causes orange-brown pustules and damaged leaves: remove affected foliage, clear fallen leaves and improve air circulation; replace badly affected plants.
• Aphids cluster on soft shoots: wash them off with water and encourage ladybirds and other predators.
• Slugs and snails damage seedlings: protect young plants with barriers or wildlife-conscious slug controls.
• Flopping or crown rot occurs in rich, shady or wet sites: move replacement plants to full sun and freely draining soil, and avoid heavy feeding.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses. No part is generally recognized as poisonous, although eating unfamiliar plants can still cause stomach upset.

Where it spreads. Self-seeds freely and has escaped cultivation into roadsides and grassland in parts of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. It can become locally weedy; remove seedheads and avoid planting beside sensitive natural grassland where it is non-native.

• Common mallow (Malva sylvestris)

  Usually has broader, less deeply divided upper leaves and stronger purple-pink flowers with conspicuous dark veins.

• Hollyhock (Alcea rosea)

  Usually much taller, with large, broad leaves and larger flowers arranged along upright spikes rather than the loose, branching stems of musk mallow.

Malva is the Latin name for mallow, while moschata means musky, referring to the plant's faint scent.

Propagation. Raise from seed sown in spring or autumn. Germination can be uneven; gently nicking or lightly abrading the seed coat can help. Move seedlings while young, as established plants dislike root disturbance.

Accepted botanical name

Malva moschata

In the US and Canada

Introduced in Canada and the lower 48 states.

Native range

Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Corse, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece and Italy.

Measured

Soil pH 5.5 to 6.5. Average height 15 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.