Tree Mallow Seeds (Lavatera arborea)
If you want height, drama, and speed, the Tree Mallow is unbeatable. This impressive plant (now botanically known as Malva arborea) grows rapidly into a towering, woody-stemmed giant that looks like a small tree or shrub, reaching up to 2 metres tall in a single season.
It has large, velvety, ivy-shaped leaves and is covered in exotic, hibiscus-like flowers in a rich purplish-pink with dark veins. It is famous for being one of the toughest plants you can grow—thriving on windy cliffs and salty coastlines where other plants fail. It brings a lush, architectural presence to the back of a border or a exposed garden.
Read More
🌿 Understanding the Plant
Tree Mallow is a **Robust Biennial** (sometimes a short-lived perennial in mild areas).
The Cycle: In Year 1, it grows a large, leafy rosette and a strong central stem. In Year 2, it explodes upwards, becomes woody at the base, and flowers profusely all summer.
Top Tip: It creates a lot of seeds! If you don't want a forest of Tree Mallows, cut off the seed heads in autumn. However, letting a few drop guarantees you free plants forever.
🌱 Growing Guide: How to Sow and Grow
This is a vigorous plant that is very easy to raise from seed.
Germination:
Sow indoors in spring (March-May) or directly outdoors in late spring. Sow seeds 1cm deep in pots. They germinate easily at 15-20°C in about 14-21 days.
Where to Sow:
It loves full sun but tolerates light shade. It is not fussy about soil—sand, chalk, clay, or poor stony ground are all fine. It is specifically adapted to coastal conditions and salt spray.
Care While Growing:
Ideally, stake the main stem in very windy gardens, although the woody base is usually strong enough to support itself. Water well in its first summer; after that, it is drought tolerant.
📋 Plant Specifications
| Latin Name | Lavatera arborea (syn. Malva arborea) |
| Common Name | Tree Mallow |
| Hardiness | H4 (Hardy through most UK winters) |
| Light Required | Full Sun ☀️ |
| Height | ↕️ 1.5m - 2.5m (Giant) |
| Spread | ↔️ 1m |
| Spacing | 🌱 1m apart |
| Great for | 🌊 Seaside Gardens 🐝 Pollinators 🧱 Screening/Hedges 🦖 Jungle Gardens |
| Seed Count | Approx. 30 seeds per packet |
🤝 Perfect Garden Companions
Tree Mallow is a large, structural plant that works best at the back of a border:
- 🦊 Foxgloves (Digitalis): The Vertical Giants. Planting Foxgloves in front of Tree Mallow creates a tiered wall of flowers. The Mallow provides a lush green backdrop for the colourful Foxglove spires.
- 🌼 Oxeye Daisy: The Wild Look. If you are gardening in a windy or coastal spot, pair Tree Mallow with tough Oxeye Daisies. The white daisies brighten up the base of the tall Mallow stems.
📅 Sowing & Flowering Calendar
Sow in spring. Establishes Year 1. Flowers Year 2 (sometimes Year 1 if sown very early).
| Month | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sow Seeds | 🟢 | 🟢 | 🟢 | |||||||||
| Flowers (Yr 2) | 🌸 | 🌸 | 🌸 | 🌸 |
🏆 Officially Recognised Excellence
Despite being a wilder plant, Lavatera arborea is fantastic for bees. The large, open hibiscus-like flowers offer plenty of nectar and pollen in high summer.
- Regular price
-
£2.80 - Regular price
-
- Sale price
-
£2.80
Couldn't load pickup availability
