Lavatera thuringiaca

'Rosy Tree Mallow'

[Ex. Almājul 720 m., Romania]

Malvaceae: a large, upright herbaceous perennial to 1.8m.  Found on hills, thickets and waysides. Large open funnel-shaped, long-stalked, purple-pink flowers up to 8cm across. Downy, greyish-green leaves with three or five lobes. Native to South East Europe to Western Asia - Armenia to Caucasia.

USES:

The young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. The flowers can also be used raw, they have a pleasant mild flavour, they make a decorative addition to the salad bowl.

GROWING INFORMATION:

Sow seeds in spring in a cold frame and only just cover the seed. Germination in a week are two if it’s warm enough. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in early summer. Prefers a light well-drained moderately fertile soil in full sun. A soil that is too rich encourages foliar growth at the expense of flowering. Plants are hardy to about -20°C.

NOTES: These seeds have taken about 2 months to germinate for me, temps. 25+°C does seem to help!

A good bee plant!

HARVESTED: 2021

 
APPROX. 50 SEEDS