Malva, Mallow, French Hollyhock 'Bibor Felho'

This malva is growing in part to full shade, and until this summer was almost completely in the shadow of our towering willow. I can't re...Read Moremember scattering seed for it, but of course I must have... we had one scrawny one about 3 years ago, with several pathetic blooms. It quickly grew a lot of rust, bestowed it on everything else, and died. Last winter seven massively-leafed plants appeared: they grew and grew until now they are five to over nine feet tall, and spread three feet each. They didn't flower all year, and my husband threatened to chop them down, saying they were just weeds, but I pleaded to let them live.
I thought, based on the appearance of the leaves, that they were a wild form of some subspecies of malva and that the blooms would be inconsequential at best, but they make an agreeable windbreak, and here on our East Bay Northern California slopes it's always good to anchor the topsoil before the torrents of rain arrive. At any rate, here it is New Year's day, and there are the purple blossoms, and it seems they are a sort of sylvestris all right, but I have not found reports anywhere that they can grow this tall! Evidently it self-propagates like mad here in hot, clay-soiled, foggy El Cerrito, adores shade and weeping willow mulch, and doesn't care what you think of it.

The color is interesting as most gardeners are familiar with BIbor Felho's cousin Zebrina. I like the long blooming time and the prolific...Read More nature of the malvas.

Hollyhocks seldom winter over in Seward, Alaska, so they aren't likely to return a second season to bloom. Although the Sylvestris doesn'...Read Moret seem to winter over here, either it is a perennial that blooms the first year, making it a wonder annual for us. It blooms prolifically, and it grows to an impressive height of 6 ft. or more.

Seeds form in a donut shape inside the husks of the spent blooms. Allow to dry on plant and harvest when brown.