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Plant ID
- Thread starter Summit259
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Hibiscus moscheutos (swamp rose mallow.) It's a native plant that grows in wet, sunny areas.
dawg2
AWOL ADMINISTRATOR
Yep, always called them "Marsh mallow"
Forest Grump
Senior Member
Swamp rosemallow Interesting Notes:
One Native American tribe used this plant to cure inflammed bladders. 1st collected by English planthunter Rev. John Banister in colonial Virginia c. 1680. A gunman mistakenly shot and killed him while he collected plants. Bloomed for Jefferson at Monticello in July, 1767. - Heritage Flower Farm
Have you ever pondered upon the strange name given to those sticky masses of sugar that are roasted over a campfire? The answer may be found among the vegetation of the wetlands. The saga actually begins over in Europe where the inhabitants would collect a certain plant from marshy areas. The roots of the plant could be boiled to produce a white sticky substance. Even though it was discovered to have no medical properties, it still satisfied the sweet tooth of children.
- "Would a Mallow by Any Other Name Taste So Sweet?", Chincoteague Natural History Association
Rose Mallow is a tall perennial native to eastern and southern N America, where it grows in moist places, marshes and on lake shores. The garden varieties can be grown as half-hardy annuals, blooming in 4 1/2 - 5 months from seed. They should be started in February to March in a warm greenhouse and grown on in large individual pots. Soaking the seed for 24 hours before sowing is beneficial to germination. They can be used in the border, as a temporary hedge or grown in large containers. The growth is strong with lush, dark green foliage and numerous huge, 8-10" flowers in pink, red and white shades. Rose mallows need a warm and sunny situation and moisture-retentive, rich soil. In northern gardens the season is often too short for full development of the flowers. 'Disco Belle' is the earliest variety. In US zones 5-10 it can be treated as perennial, overwintering easily with good drainage and the root crown protected with a layer of mulch. In colder areas the deep roots can be lifted in the autumn and stored in a frost-free cellar.
(from: http://www.northcreeknurseries.com/plantName/Hibiscus-moscheutos-)
Facts About
Insects like the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail in the photo above are enticed to visit Swamp Rose Mallow’s flowers for the nectar accessible through slits at the base of the flower.
In addition to seeking nectar, bees visit to harvest the abundant pollen the flowers offer. Bees eat pollen, and female bees gather it to provision their nests with this nutritious food for their larvae. The Rose Mallow Bee (Ptilothrix bombiformis) is a specialist forager that only eats the pollen of plants in this genus (Hibiscus) and one other, Morning Glories (Ipomoea).
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One Native American tribe used this plant to cure inflammed bladders. 1st collected by English planthunter Rev. John Banister in colonial Virginia c. 1680. A gunman mistakenly shot and killed him while he collected plants. Bloomed for Jefferson at Monticello in July, 1767. - Heritage Flower Farm
Have you ever pondered upon the strange name given to those sticky masses of sugar that are roasted over a campfire? The answer may be found among the vegetation of the wetlands. The saga actually begins over in Europe where the inhabitants would collect a certain plant from marshy areas. The roots of the plant could be boiled to produce a white sticky substance. Even though it was discovered to have no medical properties, it still satisfied the sweet tooth of children.
- "Would a Mallow by Any Other Name Taste So Sweet?", Chincoteague Natural History Association
Rose Mallow is a tall perennial native to eastern and southern N America, where it grows in moist places, marshes and on lake shores. The garden varieties can be grown as half-hardy annuals, blooming in 4 1/2 - 5 months from seed. They should be started in February to March in a warm greenhouse and grown on in large individual pots. Soaking the seed for 24 hours before sowing is beneficial to germination. They can be used in the border, as a temporary hedge or grown in large containers. The growth is strong with lush, dark green foliage and numerous huge, 8-10" flowers in pink, red and white shades. Rose mallows need a warm and sunny situation and moisture-retentive, rich soil. In northern gardens the season is often too short for full development of the flowers. 'Disco Belle' is the earliest variety. In US zones 5-10 it can be treated as perennial, overwintering easily with good drainage and the root crown protected with a layer of mulch. In colder areas the deep roots can be lifted in the autumn and stored in a frost-free cellar.
(from: http://www.northcreeknurseries.com/plantName/Hibiscus-moscheutos-)
Facts About
Insects like the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail in the photo above are enticed to visit Swamp Rose Mallow’s flowers for the nectar accessible through slits at the base of the flower.
In addition to seeking nectar, bees visit to harvest the abundant pollen the flowers offer. Bees eat pollen, and female bees gather it to provision their nests with this nutritious food for their larvae. The Rose Mallow Bee (Ptilothrix bombiformis) is a specialist forager that only eats the pollen of plants in this genus (Hibiscus) and one other, Morning Glories (Ipomoea).
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