Musk mallow

Musk mallow: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Loose, upright clump about 60 cm tall and 50 cm wide, with branched, slightly hairy stems.

Leaves

The basal leaves are rounded and only shallowly lobed; higher up the stem they are deeply divided into narrow segments.

Flower

Saucer-shaped, 4–5 cm across, with five slightly notched petals, clustered at the tops of the stems from June to September.

Colour

Soft pink with fine darker veins; the form ‘Alba’ is pure white.

Fruit

A flat, round disc of small segments that looks like a tiny cheese.

Roots

A sturdy taproot: it helps the plant cope with drought, but means it dislikes being moved.

Flowering: June–September · Harvest and fruit: April–September · Sowing: March–May · Plants: April–May and September–October · Pruning: March and July

Why grow it?

• Flowers for four months, from June to September, especially if you cut it back after the first flush.
• A native plant that is busy with bees and bumblebees.
• Copes with drought and poor soil: ideal for a sunny border, a bank or a wildflower meadow.
• Self-seeds freely, so it stays in your garden even though each plant lives only a few years.
• The finely cut leaves and airy habit give it a natural, slightly wild character.

Musk mallow: where does it grow best?

• Full sun gives the most flowers and the sturdiest plants.
• Any well-drained soil: sand, loam or clay, acid to chalky. Poor soil is fine.
• Dry to moderately moist; it dislikes wet feet in winter.
• Plant 40–50 cm apart, or in groups of three to five in a border or wildflower meadow.

Light

Sun

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Dry or normal

Size

0.6 m tall, 0.5 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -30 °C)

Goes well with

• Ox-eye daisy: White daisies beside the pink saucers, in the same sunny, poor soil.
• Field scabious: Lilac pincushions and plenty of bees: together a true wild border.
• Wild marjoram: Flowers at the same time, smells good and attracts butterflies and bees.
• Catmint: Blue-violet clouds that set off the soft pink flowers.

Musk mallow: when and how to plant it?

Plant in April–May and September–October.

1. Plant in April–May or September–October, when the soil is neither frozen nor waterlogged.
2. Choose young plants in pots: because of the taproot, large plants establish poorly.
3. Dig a hole twice as wide as the pot and loosen the bottom; manure or compost is not needed in ordinary garden soil.
4. Set the plant at the same depth as it was in the pot and firm the soil well.
5. Water in thoroughly and keep the soil slightly moist for the first few weeks, until the plant has settled.
6. You can also sow: indoors in March–April, or outdoors where it is to flower in April–May.

Care

Watering

Only in dry spells in the first year. After that, rainfall is enough, even in dry summers.

Feeding

Not needed. In rich soil it grows soft and flops.

Cutting back

After the first flush, in July, cut the flower stems back by a third to a half: a new flush follows in late summer.

Self-seeding

Leave a few stems to set seed if you want it to self-sow; young plants then replace the old ones.

Support

Rarely needed. In a windy or overly rich spot, a few twiggy sticks among the stems will do.

Tip: It lives only a few years but self-seeds freely, so let a few stems set seed each year. Cut the rest back after the first flush, in July, for a new wave of flowers in late summer.

Musk mallow: when to prune it?

Pruning months: March and July.

When: In July, after the first flush of flowers, cut the plant back. In March, clear away the old, dead stems.

How:

• In July, cut the faded stems back by a third to a half, just above a leaf or side shoot.
• Leave a few if you want to collect seed or let it self-sow.
• In March, cut last year’s dead stems back to just above the new rosette.

Caution: In March, do not cut into the fresh rosette of leaves at the base: that is where the new stems grow from.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Sow indoors in March–April at 15–20 °C, lightly covered; seedlings appear in 2–3 weeks. Or sow outdoors where it is to flower in April–May. Early sowings sometimes flower in the first year.

Self-sown seedlings

Move self-sown seedlings in spring while they are still small, with a good rootball.

Cuttings

In April, take basal cuttings from young shoots and root them in moist cutting compost.

Musk mallow: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −30 °C.

• Fully hardy, to about −30 °C: no protection is needed in Belgium.
• Heavy, waterlogged soil in winter is more dangerous than frost: make sure drainage is good.
• Each plant lives only a few years, so keep a few seedlings as successors.

Diseases and pests

• Rust: Orange to brown pustules on the undersides of the leaves, typical of mallows. Remove affected leaves, give the plant space and pull out badly affected plants.
• Slugs: They eat young plants and seedlings in spring. Protect them with a collar or pick the slugs off in the evening.
• Flopping: In rich or moist soil the stems go soft. Do not feed, and cut back in July for a more compact plant.
• Plant disappears: After three or four years it is worn out. That is normal: keep some seedlings or sow again.

Through the year

• March: Cut away last year’s dead stems. Sow indoors.
• April: Plant. Sow indoors or outdoors.
• May: Plant and sow outdoors. Watch for slugs.
• June: Flowering begins.
• July: After the first flush, cut back by a third to a half.
• August: Second flush. Water young plants in dry spells.
• September: Last flowers. Plant. Collect seed.
• October: Plant. Leave some self-sown seedlings.

Edible and useful

Flowers (June–September)

Pick the soft pink or white flowers from June to September, on a dry morning, when they have just opened. They taste mild and slightly sweet and are above all pretty: scatter them whole over a salad, a chilled soup or a cake, or freeze them in ice cubes. The young green seed heads, the ‘cheeses’, are edible too. Cut the plant back after the first flush: it then flowers again in late summer. Leave plenty of flowers for the bees and bumblebees, and a few stems to set seed.

Leaves (April–September)

From April to September, pick the young, tender leaves: in spring the round leaves from the heart of the rosette, later the young tips of the stems. They taste mild and are slightly mucilaginous, like those of common mallow: shredded raw in a salad, or briefly wilted like spinach, in an omelette or a soup. Older leaves are tough and hairy. Never take all the leaves from one plant.

Storing

Flowers and leaves are best used fresh: in a closed box with damp kitchen paper they keep for a day in the fridge. The flowers can also be dried in a single layer on a rack somewhere airy and dark, for tea or pot-pourri; in a closed jar they keep for a year.

Caution: Like common mallow, musk mallow is safe in normal amounts. Do not pick it along roads or on heavily fertilised soil: the plant then builds up nitrate. The leaves often get rust, orange pustules on the underside: only pick leaves without spots. Do not eat anything from a plant fresh from the garden centre either: let it grow on for a few weeks first, as it may have been treated.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Summer salad with musk mallow (Dish · 4 people · 15 min)
• Frittata with mallow leaves (Dish · 4 people · 30 min)

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• Its Dutch name, kaasjeskruid (‘little cheese herb’), refers to the round, flat fruits; in English, mallow fruits were also traditionally called ‘cheeses’.
• It belongs to the same family as hollyhock and hibiscus.
• The species name moschata means ‘musk-scented’: some people notice a faint musky smell on the leaves or flowers.