Malva moschata Rosea - seeds

Malva moschata 'Rosea' is a particularly floriferous pink form of the musk mallow. A short-lived perennial, it quickly forms dense bushes that are covered in summer with beautiful pink, slightly scented flowers. Its lobed and velvety foliage releases a light musky aroma when crushed. This robust and hardy, countryside plant is easy to cultivate and sow in the garden. It will find a place in natural borders, rock gardens, and wild-style flower beds, even in poor and dry soil.

Native to Europe and North Africa, Malva moschata is a herbaceous perennial plant with a taproot and woody base belonging to the mallow family, like marshmallow and hollyhocks. In the wild, it grows spontaneously in dry areas, fallow lands, meadows, or slopes, on non-calcareous soils. The 'Rosea' cultivar is a more floriferous pink form that forms branched clumps 55 to 65 cm tall and 30-40 cm wide when in bloom. Its cup-shaped flowers with 5 petals have a diameter of 4-5 cm and appear from June to September. They are pearly pink veined with a darker tone, and fully open in full sun, revealing a heart of pink stamens. As soon as the light becomes less intense, they close completely. The flowers are numerous and attract pollinators. In humid climates, this plant is sometimes prone to rust, which stains its beautiful narrow and divided, fairly light green, velvety leaves. When crushed, they release a strange, musky scent. The flowers are ollowed by black fruits that ripen and contain seeds. These seeds germinate very easily in light soil.

Musk mallow 'Rosea' is perfect for wild or holiday home gardens, as it grows and self-seeds (not always true to the parent plant) on its own. It can be associated with simple flowers that have the same requirements, such as Echinops ritro, Damask Nigella, Blue Flax, Mallow, Meadow Sage, Malva sylvestris 'Zebrina', and many others. In rock gardens, it will accompany clary sage and red valerian.