Malva Alba
Malva moschata f. alba -- White Musk Mallow; RHS AGM
Masses of pure white satiny saucer flowers above ferny musk-scented foliage — the most desirable of all Musk Mallows. Hardy perennial, edible, drought-tolerant.
About this variety
The white musk mallow, and the most refined of the family. Silky pure-white saucers over foliage that is finely divided and almost ferny, a long way from the coarse rounded leaves of the bigger mallows, and gently musk-scented when you brush past it.
At 60 to 90cm it is compact and bushy rather than the towering shrub that Malva sylvestris makes, which makes it far easier to place. It flowers June through September, takes heavy clay or dry sand as long as there is some drainage, and is hardy well below anything a Norfolk winter offers. Flowers and young leaves are edible, with a mild lettuce flavour.
The one intervention that matters is the midsummer chop. By July the plant goes leggy and the flowering slows; shear the stems back by half, water it in, and you get a fresh flush of foliage and flowers for autumn. Skip it and you have a straggly plant from August onwards. It self-seeds steadily into a slowly expanding colony, and seedlings near a coloured mallow will not come back white.
Plant alongside
Malva Alba pairs beautifully with these cottage garden classics
RHS Plants for Pollinators
This plant has been assessed by the Royal Horticultural Society and recommended as especially beneficial to bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Growing plants like this directly supports UK pollinator populations — something close to our hearts at Salle Moor Hall Farm, where we see the difference a cottage garden full of the right plants can make.
Learn more at RHS.org.uk →
RHS Award of Garden Merit
The RHS Award of Garden Merit is given to plants of outstanding excellence for ordinary garden use. To earn this award a plant must be of good constitution, available to the gardening public, and perform reliably across a range of UK growing conditions. It is one of the most trusted plant recommendations in British gardening and a genuine mark of quality.
Learn more at RHS.org.uk →