How to plant hollyhock seeds

Mallow - beauty that cannot be hidden behind a fence! And why? After all, it’s definitely not for this that breeders worked so hard on flowers of jewelery beauty of all possible shades: from virgin white to blue-black!

Did you know that the closest relatives of mallow are kalachiki (mistweed) and marshmallow?

From the first, the stock-rose inherited unpretentiousness and pretty rounded leaves, and from the second - a lot of healing and even magical properties!

• Jaundice: cultivation, properties, types

It is believed that the mallow planted along the fence protects the house and all its inhabitants from the evil eye and evil. But it turns out that not every fence will be good for mallows ...

How to please a stock rose so that it blooms for 4 months in a row, read on.

Read article

Planting and caring for mallow

• Planting: sowing seeds in May-June in open ground or in January-February for seedlings (planting seedlings in the ground - in mid-May).
• Flowering: mid-summer.
• Lighting: bright sunlight, light partial shade.
• Soil: rich in humus, well drained, medium moisture, neutral.
• Water: moderate to heavy, regular.
• Garter: recommended especially for tall varieties.
• Top dressing: before budding with a complex mineral fertilizer with nitrogen predominance.
• Reproduction: seed.
• Pests: slugs.
• Diseases: rust, powdery mildew.

Read more about growing mallow below

Mallow (lat. Malva) , or mallow , or kalachik , or stock-rose - type genus of the Malvaceae family, sometimes biennial, herbaceous perennial. Today, about 30 species of mallow grow naturally in the temperate climates of North Africa, North America, Asia and Europe. Mallow was cultivated in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece: a description of the healing properties of the plant was found in the writings of Hippocrates and Pliny the Elder. In the twenties of the last century, scientists discovered ecological plasticity and high fodder qualities in mallow. And large bright pink flowers have always aroused the admiration of artists who depicted them in paintings, and poets who sang about them in verse. And how to imagine a Ukrainian hut without a mallow growing near it in the front garden? Or a Ukrainian towel without its bright pink flowers...

Botanical description

The most famous and ancient representative of the forest mallow genus is a plant with a straight, lying or ascending stem 30-120 cm high, first fluffy and hairy, and then naked. Mallow leaves are heart-shaped, rounded, incised or five-seven-lobed, pubescent, petiolate. Large, up to 12 cm in diameter, wide bell-shaped flowers with characteristic purple stripes of 1-5 pieces are hidden in the axils of the leaves. In some species, inflorescences form brushes.

Mallow blooms from June to August, it is frost-resistant, drought-resistant and unpretentious in care.

Depending on the variety, single or double flowers vary in color from almost black to white. Petals oblong, obovate, deeply notched. Mallow root spindle-shaped, branched, long. The fruit is a polysemyanka, seeds remain viable for 2-3 years.

• Potentilla: planting and growing, types and varieties

Growing mallow from seed

Growing conditions

If you don't want to make any extra effort and don't rush to see the mallow blossom this year, you can sow seeds directly into the ground in May or June. But then your mallow before the onset of winter will only have time to form a rosette of leaves, and it will bloom only next year. If you want the mallow to bloom this summer, you should sow seeds for seedlings in January-February.

But even if you are ready to grow mallow as a biennial or perennial plant, the seedling method is still more reliable than the seed method.

For both annual and perennial mallow, the process is the same, the only difference is when to sow. Annual mallow is sown in the middle of winter, planted in the ground in May, and blooms in the middle of summer. Biennial and perennial mallow is sown in May, it is planted in the ground in August or September.

Growing seedlings

Seeds of mallow that have been stored for a year or two or bought from a flower shop, it is advisable to soak for 12 hours in warm (45 ºC) water before planting to soften the hard shell of the seeds and facilitate the germination process.

It must be said that mallow seeds, which remain viable for up to three years, germinate much better in the third year of their storage than in the first two years.

For sowing mallow seedlings, it is better to use peat pots, since mallow roots do not tolerate transplantation well and often do not take root in a new place. The temperature for seed germination should be 18-22 ºC, then seedlings will appear in two weeks. If you sowed mallow in a container, then after the appearance of three leaves on the seedlings, you will have thin out them in such a way that there is a distance of 2-3 cm between shoots. Removed sprouts can be saved by carefully diving them into peat pots. When the seedlings grow up and get stronger, it needs to be hardened, taking it out for several hours in fresh, cool air. In May-June, seedlings can be planted in the ground directly in pots.

Photo: Growing mallow seedlings from seeds

Planting mallow

Preparing the soil

Choose a sunny area in the garden (mallow grows in partial shade, but loses its color and height of the stem) with good drainage and loose, loamy, humus-rich soil . The place for sowing should be high so that the roots do not rot from standing melt water. It would be nice if the site was protected from winds and drafts. It is best to plant mallow along the fence: there will be a support nearby, to which it will be possible to tie the stems. If your soil is poor, it will have to be fertilized by mulching the area with humus. But more on that later.

• Mylnyanka: outdoor cultivation, types

How to plant in the garden

Seedlings of annual mallow are planted in open ground in mid-May. Planting seedlings of a two-year or perennial mallow in the ground is carried out in August-September. Biennial and perennial mallow seeds can be sown directly into the ground. This is done in the spring, in April-May, after late frosts. Small holes are made in the soil up to 3 cm deep and 2-3 seeds are placed in each.

Depending on what kind of mallow you plant, the distance between seedlings should be from 25 cm to 50 cm. If you are not sure that summer has finally come, put covering material on your bed so that the sprouts do not suffer from possible frosts. Under favorable weather conditions, seedlings will hatch in two weeks. When the seedlings have 3-4 leaves, they need to be thinned out, leaving one tall seedling in the hole.

Planting hibiscus in the garden - all the information you need

Caring for mallow

How to care for

Growing mallow is a simple process, because mallow is not a capricious plant. Regular moderate watering , especially in dry summers, loosening the soil and weeding, timely removal of wilted flowers are mandatory requirements in caring for mallow.

In addition, it would be good to feed the plant before budding with mineral fertilizers with a predominance of nitrogen.

The tall mallow needs to be tied up so as not to break under strong gusts of wind, so plant it along the fence or dig in tall pegs to tie the plant. Well, if you want to make a perennial from an annual, immediately after the mallow has faded, cut off all the flower stalks so that the seeds do not have time to start. That's the whole care for the mallow.

• Enotera (donkey): growing in the garden, types

In the photo: Mallow blossoms in the garden

Diseases and pests

Infect mallow slugs . They are collected by hand: put small bowls in different places, pour beer into them and in a day go around and collect the slugs that will crawl to get drunk.

Of the few diseases that affect the mallow, the worst of all is rust, which is easily infected near metal fences. The disease manifests itself in the fact that dark red spots appear on the back of the leaves. Affected leaves must be removed and burned.

Sometimes powdery mildew appears on mallow. You can fight it with a solution of colloidal sulfur or a specialized fungicide.

In the photo: Mallow pests on the flower

Mallow after flowering

In autumn, after the mallow has faded, the stems are cut to ground level. At the same time, you can fertilize the soil by mulching it with humus and compost at the rate of 3-4 kg per 1 m ² . Mallow should winter under shelter from spruce branches, fallen leaves or straw.

In the photo: Mallow has faded

Healing properties of mallow

Mallow has long been known in folk medicine. The beneficial properties of mallow have been studied by healers in many countries. For example, an infusion of mallow flowers and leaves cures stomach inflammation and intestinal disorders. Hot baths with steamed leaves or flowers of mallow (mallow) help relieve swelling of the spleen. The forest mallow grass is a constant component of chest collections.

Lavatera: planting and caring - relative of mallow

In the form of lotions and compresses decoction of mallow flowers is used for skin diseases to relieve itching and to heal wounds (obviously due to the mucus contained in the mallow). Mallow is also used in medical cosmetology to restore the epidermis and prevent pustular rashes. Preference in folk medicine is given to mallow flowers, because they have a higher content of sugars, vitamin C and carotene than leaves. The main thing is that mallow preparations do not give unwanted side effects and have no contraindications.

Mallow tea for cough: 2 teaspoons of finely chopped flowers (or leaves) pour a glass of boiling water and leave for 10 minutes, strain, drink 2-3 cups a day. You can add honey, but then the tea should not be warmer than 40 ºC.

• Loosestrife: growing in the garden, reproduction, types and varieties

... Every year in May, Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto and the city host the Aoi Matsuri festival dedicated to mallow. People put on bright clothes, walk through the streets of the city with dances and songs. This holiday is many centuries old...

Endless May rain...
Mallows are reaching somewhere,
Looking for the path of the sun.
Basho

Types and varieties of mallow

The genus of mallow in cultivation includes about 60 species of ornamental plants. The progenitor of this genus forest mallow is an annual plant. And species such as Sudanese, hybrid, musky and wrinkled mallow are predominantly perennials. True, it must be said that not all flower growers include all these species in the mallow genus, considering, for example, that Sudanese mallow, or hibiscus, as well as wrinkled mallow, or stock-rose, although they belong to the mallow family, but are related to another kind. Let's not quibble: the plants are so similar in characteristics that it makes sense to combine them into one section on care and cultivation.

Annual mallow

Wood mallow (Malva sylvestris)

So, wood mallow , or Kalachiki . This biennial plant is grown here as an annual. It grows up to 120 cm, its flowers are characterized by the presence of darker veins than the shade of the flower. Popular varieties are zebrina mallow, which is distinguished by large flowers of pale pink color with dark red veins. The Black Pearl variety is also in demand - dark purple flowers up to 7 cm in diameter with black veins.

In the photo: Forest mallow or kalachiki

Perennial mallow

Musk mallow (Malva moschata)

It is a low perennial - not more than a meter. Fragrant flowers of white or pink musk mallow reach a diameter of 5 cm. Sometimes this mallow is called nutmeg. Popular cultivars are White Tower and Pink Tower 70 cm tall with snow white or hot pink flowers respectively. These varieties bloom until frost.

In the photo: Musk or nutmeg mallow

Sudanese mallow

Or Sabdariffa hibiscus , or Sudanese rose is a biennial plant grown for its fruits, which have long been one of the components of fruit drinks with medicinal value. The shrub form of Malva sabdariffa var. Sabdariffa and the tree form Malva sabdariffa var. Altissima.

In the photo: Sudanese mallow or hibiscus sabdariffa or Sudanese rose

Wrinkled mallow (Malva rugosa)

Stock-rose , or wrinkled alcea – it is conditionally called mallow. The plant in nature reaches two meters in height, its flowers are 3 cm in diameter, yellow. Is a perennial. Garden form - stock-pink mallow, or stock-rose (Malva alcea). Perennial plant, reaches 90 cm in height. It has varieties with both simple and semi-double and double flowers, similar to peonies.

• Viola: growing from seeds, types and varieties

For example, Chater's Double Strain is a double mallow with large flowers of various colors, while Single Mixed has simple flowers resembling hibiscus. Stock rose varieties also differ in size: Powder Puffs Mixed, for example, reaches a height of two meters, and Majorette Mixed is a dwarf plant (up to 75 cm), but with large semi-double flowers.

In the photo: Stock rose or wrinkled mallow or wrinkled alcea

Malva hybrida (Malva hybrida)

This is a perennial with several stems, up to 2 m high. The flowers are white or pink, double, very large. Blooms in June-September. Popular varieties Chaters Double, Gibbortello, Powder Puffs.

In the photo: Hybrid mallow

You should know that almost all varieties of forest mallow are annuals, and varieties of other mallow species are predominantly biennials or perennials, but this division is conditional: both among forest mallow varieties there are perennial varieties, and among conditional perennials, there are annual varieties.

Literature

1. Read related topics on Wikipedia
2. Peculiarities and other plants of the Malvaceae family
3. List of all species on The Plant List
4. More information on World Flora Online

Poppy: cultivation from seeds, species and varieties
Daisies: cultivation in the open field

Sections: Garden Biennials Perennials Garden Herbaceous Plants Garden Flowering Plants Annual Plants Garden Medicinal Plants Mallow Weed Plants per M Garden Plants

This article is usually followed by

Add a comment

Growing mallow from seeds: when planting

Content

• 1 Description of the plant
• 2 types
• 3 What do mallow seeds
• 4 seed propagation
  • 4. 1 sowing in the open soil
  • 4.2 select the place for planting
  • 4.3 Soil preparation
  • 4.4 Features of seed preparation
  • 4.5 Sowing technology
  • 4.6 Selection of sowing terms
  • 4.7 When to plant a mallow with seeds on seedlings
  • 4.8 Conditions for the content of seedlings
• 5 The simplest method of reproduction
• 6 Conclusion

The plant that we call male and belongs to another genus of the Malvaceae family. Real mallows grow in the wild. The stockrose genus includes about 80 species, many of which are found only in horticultural culture.

Description of the plant

Mallows originate from Central and Western Asia, are found in the wild in the Balkans, in southern Russia. 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 produce 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.

Most mallows are perennials or biennials. There are much fewer annual plants among them.

Important! Mallow is a medicinal plant and is used in folk medicine as an expectorant.

Species

In nature, the following species of this charming flower exist:

• Pink 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.
• Ruffled mallow (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 or nutmeg mallow (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, sidaltsei 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? This is what mallow seeds look like in the photo.

Sepals turn yellow at the beginning of seed maturation. 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 late seeds have a higher germination. 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.

Propagation by seed

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.

Choosing a place to land

Mallow seeds are sown immediately in a permanent place, so its choice must be approached carefully. 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.

Attention! All mallows have a long taproot, so a painless transplant for a plant is possible only at a young age.

Mallow needs a well-lit place for comfortable growth, only some species do not weaken their flowering in partial shade. 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.

Tip! When sown in nutrient soil with sufficient moisture content, the result will be much better.

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, picking out the roots of weeds.
• For digging, humus or well-ripened compost and wood ash are brought in.

Peculiarities 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.

Seeding 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.

Tip! You can cover each hole with a small piece of covering material. It will retain moisture and speed up germination.

It takes 2 to 3 weeks for mallow to sprout. If all the sown seeds have sprouted, you can simply pull out the extra plants or transplant them to another place.

Selection of sowing dates

Seeds of mallow can be sown in open ground 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.

Tip! In autumn, a bed with mallow is mulched with peat so that crops do not freeze in winter.

When to plant mallow seeds for seedlings

Sowing seeds for seedlings is carried out if you 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 each of sand and humus;
• 2 parts of garden land.

Warning! Mallow tolerates transplantation very painfully due to the structural features of the root system, therefore it is undesirable to grow it with a pick.

In each container, 2 seeds are sown 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.

The photo shows mallow seedlings sown for seedlings.

Excess plants should be removed or transplanted into separate pots.

Conditions for keeping seedlings

Mallow seedlings do not have any special requirements, their care 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.
• Temperature about 20 degrees Celsius.
• Watering as needed. Plant nutrition is not required.

The photo shows a grown mallow seedling, ready for transplanting.

The plants are planted in a previously prepared place without damaging the earthen ball.

The easiest way to propagate

Growers usually remove mallow blossoms when they have faded.

Learn more

• 
  Design ideas for tiny bathrooms
• 
  Best electric mixer
• 
  How to design wardrobe
• 
  Period house styles
• 
  How to decorate a black and white bathroom
• 
  Can you put your pillow in the washing machine
• 
  Different color doors
• 
  White kitchen with wooden floor
• 
  Plants for sloping gardens
• Can you put your pillow in the washing machine
• 
  Different color doors