They are the reason why many gardeners plant the mallow in their garden. Whether Mauritanian mallow, cup mallow, flower hollyhock or another type of mallow - they all have visually appealing flowers.
When do they appear?
The mallow flowers appear at different times depending on the species and variety. There are mallows that bloom as early as the end of May. Others present their flowers from June and still others from July. The flowering period can last until September.
While some species only flower for two weeks, others flower for four weeks or longer and are good reblooming (forming new flower buds/post-flowering) after removing the old flowers.
How do you look?
Each flower of the mallow is white, pink, light purple, lilac or red. The flowers stand alone or in clusters in the leaf axils - usually in pairs. Some species have up to four flowers in each leaf axil. All mallow flowers have the following characteristics in common, among others. You are:
- hermaphrodite
- fivefold
- cupped
- wide open
- radial symmetric
are they edible
Mallow flowers are not poisonous but edible. They taste mild, delicately sweet and pleasant. Their high content of mucilage has a positive effect on the body. Therefore, you can buy so-called cheesy poplar tea in pharmacies. This is a tea made from dried flowers and/or leaves of the wild mallow.
You don't necessarily have to overwinter your mallow to get the flowers. Freshly grown from seed in spring, flowers appear in summer. These help with:
- to cough
- Sore throat
- hoarseness
- bronchitis
- Inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract
- heartburn
- constipation
tips and tricks
The flowers of the hollyhock or hollyhock are less tasty. They are firm and melt less on the tongue when chewed than the flowers of other species.