Annuals Dictionary: Malope
Mallow family
Malvaceae
Ma-lo’pe. A genus of 3 smooth or hairy herbs found in the Mediterranean region.
Description
Leaves alternate, without marginal teeth, occasionally 3-parted. Flowers showy, white, violet, or pink, surrounded by 3 bracts.
How to Grow
Grown in Europe as a summer flower, but not sufficiently heat-resistant for prolonged color in U.S., except where summers are cool. Sow seeds 2-3 weeks before last frost. Plants grow bushy, so sow 3-5 seeds per hill with 2 ft. (60 cm) between hills. Cover with ? in. (6 mm) soil. Overly fertile soil will produce dense plants with few blossoms. Prefers cool weather.
Malope trifida
2-3 ft. (60-90 cm) high. Flowers trumpet-shaped, 2-3 in. (5.0-7.5 cm) wide, rose or purple, growing singly on stalks from axils of leaves. Europe and n. Africa. Cultivar ‘Grandiflora’ has larger, deep rosy-red flowers, and is sometimes known as M. grandiflora . Hardy annual.