Cultivation Details
Sphaeralcea coccinea is a plant of semi-arid regions, succeeding in areas with a mean annual rainfall as low as 150 - 250mm[1]. It can tolerate considerable winter cold so long as it is not wet, and is recommended for growing in hardiness zones 6 - 8[1]. Requires a sunny position, succeeding in a wide range of well-drained soils from sandy to clay loams to gravelly to alkaline and moderately saline soils, but it is not generally found on sodic soils. Tolerates a pH ranging from 5 - 8[1]. Once established, the plant is extremely drought tolerant[1].
Propagation
Seed - it has a hard seed coat and benefits from either autumn sowing or scarification of stored seed[1]. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing. Softwood cuttings in a frame in early summer[3]. Division[3]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Sphaeralcea+coccinea>
Pollinators
Bees
References
- [1]Plants Database — United States Department of Agriculture · http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet ↩︎An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
- [2]Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West — Moore M. · Museum of New Mexico Press; Santa Fe · 2003 · ISBN 0-89013-454-5 ↩︎Detailed information on the medicinal uses of around 150 species of plants from the Rocky Mountains of N. America. An excellent, detailed publication, written in a style that connects the writer to his readers.
- [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]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]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 1998 · ISBN 0-88192-453-9 ↩︎Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.