Lavatera Princess Pink - Tree mallow

Lavatera 'Princess Pink' is a lovely shrubby lavatera whose bright pink double flowers bring incredible charm to the garden or terrace. This hybrid of Malva × clementii forms a generous, easy-going small bush that flowers from late spring until early autumn. It is lovely in mixed plantings with other small shrubs and rose bushes, but also in a large pot. A generous and decorative plant that takes up little space!

This lavatera belongs to the Malvaceae family, the same hibiscus and hollyhocks. It is a selection of the hybrid Malva × clementii, also called Lavatera × clementii. It is naturalised in temperate Europe. Its parents are Malva olbia, native to the western Mediterranean basin, and Malva thuringiaca, widespread from Europe to Western Asia.
'Princess Pink' is a cultivar obtained in Japan by breeder Toshikhiko Hara and then introduced to Europe in the early 2020s. It is increasingly offered under the botanical name Malva 'Princess Pink'. This selection constitutes one of the first shrubby lavateras with truly double flowers, fuller than those of older cultivars. It is a woody perennial with a relatively short life, needing replacing after 5 to 7 years. In 3-4 years, the plant forms a small bushy shrub of 1 m to 1.20 m in height and 0.60 to 0.90 m in spread, sometimes a bit more in mild climates. The flexible and upright stems branch from the base and regrow each year from the old wood. The foliage is semi-evergreen in mild climates, and becomes deciduous where winters are cold. The leaves are slightly downy, a medium green with little grey, and are rounded and lobed like small hibiscus leaves. 
Flowering is the major asset of 'Princess Pink'. On the current year's shoots, which grow quite upright, numerous buds are produced along the stems in succession. They open into widely spread cups. Each consists of a first row of fairly broad petals and a very full centre of shorter petals: the whole forms a double corolla like a small, compact hollyhock. Its colour is a bright, luminous pink, finely veined with a deeper pink, darker in the centre. This flowering period extends from late May or June until September, sometimes October if the autumn is mild.
Like many shrubby lavateras, this plant tolerates summer drought well once established, but not heavy, waterlogged soils in winter. It withstands wind and sea spray well, which explains its success in coastal gardens.

In the garden, Lavatera 'Princess Pink' lends itself to many uses. It can be planted in the foreground of a cottage garden border, surrounded by other shrubby lavateras such as Lavatera maritima 'Princesse de Ligne' and Lavatera 'Candy Floss'. In a more naturalistic or dry garden, pair it with Afghan sage Perovskia 'Blue Spire', with its misty lavender-blue spikes, and the shrubby sage Salvia microphylla grahamii of an almost red pink. A few clumps of Pennisetum orientale 'Karley Rose', with their pink feathery spikes, complete the picture by adding movement and lightness to the whole.