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Malvaceae FAMILY

Malva arborea

Malva arborea

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitBiennial
GrowthFast

An easily grown plant, succeeding in any ordinary garden soil in sun or partial shade[1, 2]. Prefers a light well-drained moderately fertile soil in full sun[3]. A soil that is too rich encourages foliar growth at the expense of flowering[3]. Tolerates maritime exposure[3]. Plants are very fast-growing and often flower in their first year from seed[3]. They flower so freely in their second year that they normally die afterwards, though they sometimes perennate[3]. When well sited, this species usually self-sows freely[3]. There are some named forms developed for their ornamental value[3].

Propagation

Seed - sow late summer in situ[3]. The seed should germinate within 4 weeks. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Malva+arborea>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  2. [2]Perennials. Volumes 1 and 2. — Phillips. R. & Rix. M. · Pan Books · 1991 · ISBN 0-330-30936-9 ↩︎Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
  5. [5]Flora of the British Isles. — Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. · Cambridge University Press · 1962 · ISBN - ↩︎A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
  6. [6]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  7. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎