Alcea rosea

Common name: hollyhock, Indian mallow, royal cane, Isabella mallow.

Synonyms:Alcea biennis, Alcea ficifolia, Althaea caribaea, Althaea chinensis, Althaea coromandeliana, Althaea flexuosa, Althaea meonantha, Althaea mexicana, Althaea rosea , Althaea rosea var. sinensis, Althaea sinensis, Malva florida, Malva hortensus

Type:Perennial plant

Description:

Royal Mallow ( Alcea rosea ) is a herbaceous plant that has been widely cultivated for a long time and has fallen into disuse in recent times, but it is still one of beautiful flowers and a very elegant appearance. It is a perennial plant with erect floral stems 2-3 m tall and hairy of Mediterranean origin.

Its heart-shaped leaves are born in a rosette, except when it blooms, with 5-7 slightly pronounced lobes. The malva flowers are usually pink or purple but there are also white or yellow varieties, all of them supported by a short peduncle, solitary or in groups of 2-3 located in the axil of the leaves and gathered in the formation of a long terminal raceme. Flowering takes place in summer.

The fruit is a schizocarp, which, when still green, is edible.

Crop:

It must be planted in full sun. Looking for a place where the soil is fresh and with good organic matter, it adapts very well to cultivation in normal garden soil, preferring tilled land.

Frequent watering must be ensured, although it can withstand short periods of drought, it is a plant that requires regular and stable watering for it to develop properly.

The automation of the irrigation system is one of the best techniques to guarantee water to our plants. Depending on the type of space you have, you will need one type of automatic irrigation or another. Find your ideal automatic watering system and forget about your plants drying out due to lack of watering.

The sowing time should be between May-June and the planting time in August-September, with flowering around June-September. Although in warm climates it can be brought forward to March, flowering in May-June.

It is a plant that has been naturalized in several points due to its easy reproduction and its great adaptability.

Multiplication:

Its reproduction is generally carried out by seeds that are collected from the fruit once dry, but also by division of the tillers (axillary buds, located in the subnodes of the main axis, which produce secondary shoots) after flowering.

Applications:

Royal mallow can be grown as an ornamental plant in the form of isolated specimens or in flower beds.

In the past, its roots, leaves and flowers were used to prepare infusions, liquid extracts, syrups and decoctions. Whose function were emollients, expectorants and laxatives.