Description
Lavatera – Mallow – Tree Mallow –
There are about 25 species of annuals, biennials, herbaceous, semi evergreen or evergreen perennial and deciduous, semi evergreen, or evergreen subshrubs and shrubs in this genus. They may be short lived. They occur in the Azores, Canary Islands, Western Europe, and The Mediterranean to Central Asia, Russia, Australia, and California, USA in dry, rocky places, often near coasts. They are grown for their showy, 5 petaled, saucer or funnel shaped flowers (similar to those of Malva or Hibiscus), held singly or in racemes, mainly in summer with prominent staminal columns. The leaves are alternate, variably shaped, long stalked, and usually palmately lobed. The annual, biennial, and short lived perennial species are suitable for a herbaceous border or for summer bedding, shrubby species are best grown in a shrub border or, where marginally hardy against a warm, sunny wall.
Grow in ideally, light, moderately fertile, well drained soil in full sun. Shelter from cold, drying winds.
Prone to scale insects, root rot, rust, and leaf spot.
L. arborea ‘Variegata’ – Tree Mallow – This tree like, woody stemmed annual, biennial, or short lived, evergreen perennial grows 10′ feet tall and half as wide. From thick stems it carries rounded, palmately 5 to 7 lobed, mid green leaves conspicuously white marked, fading to green in warm weather, to 8″ long. Throughout summer it bears racemes of 2-7 funnel shaped, purple-pink flowers, to 2 ½” across, with darker veins. May be grown as a windbreak in a coastal garden.
Zones 8-10
