Malvastrum lateritium - False mallow

Malvastrum lateritium or Creeping Lavatera is a little-known perennial from the mallow family with an interesting performance in the garden. It forms a spreading ground cover, with a creeping and bushy habit and rapid growth. It withstands cold down to -12 to -15°C and tolerates drought periods, but can become invasive. The rounded, shiny dark green leaves are evergreen. The cup-shaped flowers bloom from May to July in a delightful salmon-pink colour, darker near the dark yellow heart with yellow anthers. Due to its tendency to spread, keep it for large slopes or open coastal areas, which it also favours. Ideal in a sunny and dry area, it adapts to all well-drained soils.

Malvastrum lateritium, also known as Callirhoe involucrata, belongs to the mallow family. It originates from the arid and semi-arid regions of South America, in Argentina and Uruguay, on rocky soil in prairies. Creeping Lavatera will reach a height of about 20 cm at maturity with a minimum spread of 60 cm. Its highly branched stems, prone to spontaneous layering, bear alternate, 5 to 8 cm long, rounded, evergreen leaves, divided into 3 to 5 lobes, wedge-shaped and oblong. They are a shiny dark green and renew regularly, slowing down a bit in winter. From May to July, depending on the region, cup-shaped, solitary flowers of 3 to 5 cm in diameter appear. They consist of 5 peach to salmon pink petals, darker near the dark yellow heart, with yellow anthers.

Creeping Lavatera is quite hardy and tolerant of summer drought, a boon for dry gardens, sandy soils and rockeries, but also for walls where it will gracefully cascade. It also forms a beautiful ground cover for challenging, sunny areas of the garden. Its speed in covering the ground is astonishing, especially in a warm and sunny exposure. It can be accompanied, for example, by Callirhoe involucrata, aubrieta canescens, ceraistes or stachys, as well as Dalea purpurea Stephanie, Ononis spinosa, sedums, Lithodora oleifolia, Californian poppies, and many other equally undemanding dry soil plants. It can also be planted in a hanging basket, with regular but spaced-out watering.