Anisodontea scabrosa Large Red - Cape mallow

Anisodontea scabrosa 'Large Red' is a floriferous cultivar of shrubby mallow with colourful deep pink flowers, capable of blooming 8 months out of 12 when protected from frost. It is a highly ornamental South African plant, but frost-tender, to be planted in a large pot on the terrace, or in the ground in mild climates.

Anisodontea, like shrubby lavateras, belong to the large family of Malvaceae. It is a genus native to South Africa, which includes large woody-based perennial shrubs that are not very hardy. Anisodontea scabrosa is native to the Cape Peninsula, a region with winter rains. This shrub is found in sunny, sheltered and bushy places along the coast. This species with rough leaves grows in various soils, often disturbed, but mainly on low-lying coastal sands. This not very hardy (-6/-7°C) plant shows good resistance to summer drought when planted in the ground, once well established.

The 'Large Red' cultivar is a horticultural selection that is more compact and more colourful than the species. Half-perennial, half-shrub, this plant has a bushy habit. It quickly reaches a height of 1m with a spread of 80cm, or even more when planted in the ground. This small shrub produces countless small round, 2 to 4cm diameter flowers, composed of five petals, a beautiful purplish pink with dark red veining around a throat of the same red. These flowers, appearing at the axil of each leaf, are short-lived, but they continuously renew themselves from May-June to October-November, throughout the growing season, in successive waves induced by appropriate watering and under good growing conditions. The foliage is rather sparse, evergreen to deciduous depending on the severity of the winter, and composed of very dissected, wavy, slightly hairy and sticky, aromatic, fairly dark green leaves.

Anisodontea 'Large Red' is a fantastic plant for terraces and patios, to be overwintered in a cool and very bright place in cold climates. It is a plant for full sun and shows more longevity in well-drained soil. In regions with mild winters, it will be beautiful in a small informal hedge, or in a bed of blue-flowering shrubs such as Ceanothus 'Concha' or Ceratostigma 'Forest Blue' which will enhance its deep pink flowering. It also pairs very well with purple-flowering shrubby salvias and purple foliage. Its combination with Sages, or with its cousins the Lavateras and the Mallow is full of romance.