How to Grow Malva Zebrina

Malva sylvestris, or common mallow, is a flowering plant native to Western Europe. It can grow to 3 feet in height and has bright purple flowers. The "Zebrina" variety of Malva sylvestris has pink flowers with purple stripes. Gardeners value Malva Zebrina for its profuse blooms that it produces in the first year. This allows you to grow this flower as an annual in areas where it cannot survive the winter. Malva Zebrina propagates readily from seed.

Things You'll Need

Seed tray
Seed start mix
Plastic wrap

Gardening soil
Garden trowel

Instructions

- 1
  Grow Malva Zebrina as a perennial in U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 5 through 9. This range means the plant is hardy in areas where the lowest temperature during the year is between minus 20 and 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 2
  Fill a seed tray with a seed starter mix six to eight weeks before the last expected frost. Sow the Malva Zebrina seeds onto the seed tray and cover them with an additional 1/16 inch of seed starter.
- 3
  Water the Malva Zebrina seeds to keep them moist but not wet. Cover the tray with plastic wrap to retain moisture and keep them at room temperature until they germinate. This typically requires two to three weeks.
- 4
  Remove the plastic wrap from the seed tray and move it to a sunny window. Water the seedlings so that the starting mix remains moist until they reach a height of at least 4 inches.
- 5
  Prepare a planting site with general gardening soil. Malva Zebrina grows best in partial shade, especially during the afternoon. Ordinary gardening soil is sufficient for growing this plant.
- 6
  Remove the Malva Zebrina seedlings from the seed tray and plant them at the same soil level as they were in the tray. Space the seedlings about 18 inches apart. Malva Zebrina blooms during the summer and produces seed in the fall.

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