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Mallow Planting Methods and Technical Key Points

Growing Techniques By Emily Carter 0 views
Flowering Plants

Mallow (scientific name: Malva sinensis Cavan.): a biennial or perennial upright herb, 50-90 cm tall, much branched, sparsely covered with coarse hairs. Leaves are round-cordate or reniform, with 5-7 rounded crenate blunt lobes, hairless on both surfaces or sparsely covered with short stiff hairs only on the veins. Flowers are clustered in groups of 3-11, with 3 bracteoles, oblong and sparsely covered with soft hairs; flowers are purplish red or white, 3.5-4 cm in diameter, with 5 petals, spatulate, 2 cm long, apex slightly notched, claw bearded. The fruit is flat and round, with 9-11 mericarps, reniform, covered with soft hairs; seeds are blackish brown, reniform, 2 mm long. Flowering period is May to October.

Propagation Methods


Seed sowing is the main method of propagation, though division can also be used, both carried out in late autumn or early spring. Its seeds need the heat of fire to crack the outer shell, so that moisture can penetrate into the interior of the seed and the young sprout can emerge.
When sowing, try not to choose soil that is too acidic; secondly, because the plant is relatively large, attention should be paid to fertilizer and water management. Mallow is propagated by seed, generally sown in autumn (early September) or early spring (around late March to late April).
Mallow sowing can be done either as pot seedling raising or open-field seedling raising. For open-field seedling raising, the substrate should be watered through, then the seeds evenly scattered on the substrate, and then covered with about one centimeter of soil; care should be taken to keep the soil moist, but waterlogging and standing water must be avoided. Spring sowing is generally planted out in May and can bloom in June; autumn sowing is generally planted out in early November.

Cultivation Techniques



Planting:It is best to do this before Qingming, choosing nutrient soil or leaf mold with a pH of 5.5-6.5; after potting, place it in a spot that receives half a day of sunlight, so that the leaves are green and the flowers abundant, otherwise it will be very difficult for it to bloom.

Fertilizing:Because mallow blooms many times, it needs sufficient nutrients. From May it enters the growth period, so apply a fertilizer combining nitrogen and phosphorus 1-2 times; from June it blooms successively until October, and each month a phosphorus-based fertilizer should be applied as a top dressing 1-2 times, so that the flowers bloom continuously. 

Watering:In the hot high-temperature season of midsummer, the potting soil should be on the dry side and avoid being wet, to prevent root rot. Sometimes it will drop its leaves, and in the following spring it will grow new leaves again. 

Pruning:At any time cut off dead branches, diseased branches, weak branches, overly dense branches and spent flowers and stems, to facilitate ventilation and light penetration; for single-petaled varieties, overly long and leggy branches should also be shortened, so that more side branches grow and more flowers are produced.

Cold protection:After winter begins, it should be moved indoors promptly and placedin a sunny and warm place, keeping the indoor temperature at 3-5℃, so it can overwinter; the potting soil should be on the dry side and avoid being wet, to prevent root rot. Sometimes it will drop its leaves, and in the following spring it will grow new leaves again.

Harvesting:Harvest in summer and autumn, and dry in the sun.


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