Monrovia : Learn

Excellent background shrub for beds of annuals and perennials. Numerous showy pale lavender with purple throat flowers against maple-like gray-green leaves. Shear to keep it dense. Evergreen. Full sun. Bold open form to 4 to 6 feet tall and wide. Cutting grown.

Performance and Requirements

Light needs: Full sun

Watering Needs: Once established, needs only occasional watering.

Pruning Time: Spring

Growth Rate: Moderate Growing

Growth Habit: Erect

Design Information

Companion Plants

SWEET BROOM
Cytisus x spachianus

PEPPERMINT LACE CRAPE MYRTLE
Lagerstroemia indica 'Peppermint Lace' P.P.# 3169

(Click on image for more information. New window will open.)

Companion Plants (Description): The natural companion for other large rangy shrubs such as Sweet Broom (Cytisus x spachianus), Turner`s Shari-D Oleander (Nerium oleander Turner`s Shari-DTM) and Royal Red Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii `Royal Red`). Also just as at home with Peppermint Lace Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica `Peppermint Lace`) and the rugged Therese Bugnet Japanese Rose (Rosa x `Therese Bugnet`).

Design Styles: Bush Mallow is a Mediterranean shrub that is most at home in drier Western landscapes. Rangy and irregular, it`s best as a background shrub for more compact dryland or native flowering perennials. It can be clipped or sheared for a more formal character as a hedge or medium-height screen. Perfect on banks and slopes, among landscape boulders and in wild landscapes. Its greatest value is as a source of color in drought-resistant gardens, where its uniquely textured foliage makes a lush back-of-the-border filler.

Care Information

Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring. For a formal appearance, shear annually after flowering.

Background Information

History: This genus belongs to the mallow family which also contains hollyhocks and hibiscus. The 25 species of Lavatera are mostly native to the Mediterranean. The species name, maritima suggests its origins in the coastal or maritime regions of North Africa.

Lore: Mallows are closely related to the wetland plant known as "marsh mallow" with roots used to create this popular confection.

Botanical Pronunciation: lav-a-TEE-ra ma-RIT-i-ma

Catalog Description: Excellent background shrub for beds of annuals and perennials. Numerous showy pale lavender with purple throat flowers against maple-like gray-green leaves. Shear to keep it dense. Evergreen. Full sun. Bold open form to 4 to 6 feet tall and wide. Cutting grown.