How to Grow Zebra Mallow

Select the site for the zebra mallow. They are beautiful as the centerpiece of a garden or planted in mass along a border. Wherever you plant them, mallow needs full sun all day long. They need soil with good drainage. They also need soil that is not very rich and will do better in soil that is slightly poor.

Till up the soil in the spring, break up clods and remove rocks and garden debris. To grow zebra mallow from a plant, remove it carefully from the container it came in and put it in the hole. Fill with soil and tamp down gently to remove air bubbles. Water to settle the soil. Plant several mallow in a circle about 2 feet or more across to create a beautiful centerpiece in your garden.

Watch for the seedlings to sprout. Mallow will begin blooming in the summer; the earlier they are planted, the earlier blooms will appear. They are also beautiful as cut flowers; you might want to plant a few extra mallow just for this purpose.

Water mallow thoroughly in the early summer and in long dry periods. Feeding is not necessary for this plant. The only known problem is that it will sometimes be killed suddenly by fungal diseases in the soil. If this happens, plant the mallow somewhere else the next season.

Pull the zebra mallow plants up after the flowering season. Although mallow is considered an annual, you can leave a few plants in the ground to self-seed for the next season.