Forest mallow: description, recommendations for cultivation and reproduction

Forest mallow is an ancient plant that belongs to the Malvaceae family. She is one of the thousands of species in this large family that can be observed in the form of grasses, vines or shrubs. The flower has a second name - Common Mallow (common mallow). Its fruits are similar to the prosphora (small loaf), which the believers take in the temple during the sacrament. According to one version, the mallow got its name for this similarity.

This plant is known to the inhabitants of Europe, Asia, North Africa. Most of its species grows in tropical climates. Plants can be found in meadows, ravines, and forest edges. Malva loves sunny meadows, but grows well in partial shade. Both wild and cultivated varieties of this plant are grown in gardens and parks.

The mallow can be one-year-old, two-year-old, but may have a longer life span.

A perennial plant can be in the form of a herbaceous growth of 30-40 cm or two-meter, lushly overgrown bushes. It all depends on the period of the life cycle and climatic conditions. At the same time, the stems do not always rush up, in some conditions they become flexible, pliable and spread over the soil surface. They reach their maximum value already in July.

Leaves densely cover the shoots and are of different types:

• rounded cordate;
• have a finger dissection;
• the plane is divided into 6–7 blades.

The edge often looks uneven. The surface is covered with soft fluff, held on a long handle. The leaves are bright green or dark in color.

Flowers grow singly or are collected in a racemose inflorescence of 2-4 pieces around a rounded stem. They open and bloom at different times, allowing the plant to stand blooming almost until the cold weather. Flowers up to 5 cm in size can be purple or pink in color. The plant is self-pollinating and attracts bees and butterflies.

Make a box of single-seeded nests. Ripen and open in September.

Mallow prefers neutral or slightly acidic soils. Planting is done in April-May, those who were late and sowed in early June will also get a good result. The favorable temperature for seedlings is 16–20 degrees. Seeds can be sown without preliminary preparation, several pieces per hole to a depth of 3 cm, the distance between the holes should be 50-60 cm.

Two weeks later, when shoots appear, they are thinned out, leaving one strongest shoot in each hole. The first two months the plant develops slowly, then its growth progresses noticeably. But it is possible to transplant seedlings to a permanent place, for example, in a flower bed, only in late summer or early autumn. With flowering and powerful growth, forest mallow will delight only the next year, but sometimes the first years also bloom.

Forest mallow can reproduce in different ways: by seeds, cuttings, dividing the bush.

Seedlings are grown both in boxes on the veranda and in the open field. The plant tolerates spring frosts well. Seeds are sown in April, after holding them in warm water for about 12 hours. After planting, the seedlings are watered and exposed in a well-lit place, but not in direct sunlight. The optimum temperature for home germination should be 20-22 degrees.

In this way, valuable garden varieties with double flowering are usually propagated. Cuttings are cut in the spring, harvesting basal shoots. In summer, you can cut stem shoots. Before planting in the ground, the sections are treated with "Kornevin" or another root formation stimulator... Cuttings are grown in pots or boxes with a mixture of sand and peat. With moderate watering, the planting material will completely take root in two weeks. Mallow is planted in a permanent place in the fall - on a cloudy day or in the evening.

This method also allows you to preserve the parental characteristics of the view. Only large, well-grown bushes are divided. They are dug out in the spring, the adhering soil is carefully removed and divided into pieces with a knife. Each piece must have enough root mass for rooting. The sections should be sprinkled with charcoal powder to prevent the growth of soil bacteria. Then they land on a pre-prepared place.

Mallow bears fruit in autumn. After flowering, it forms seed pods (balls), each of which contains from 25 to 40 pieces. Do not pick them right away - after a month the balls will turn yellow and will be ready to be harvested. In late autumn, the stems of the faded mallow are cut off, this makes it possible for the plant to overwinter without freezing.

Since wood mallow feels great in the wild, caring for it in the garden is not difficult.

After planting in any way, watering with warm water is mandatory. The first week, the soil is moistened daily in small portions. It should be remembered that the plant does not tolerate both severe drying out and excessive moisture. The emerging seedlings are watered 2-3 times a week. An adult plant in a humid climate does not need to be moistened. In arid regions, watering is carried out as needed, together with the rest of the "inhabitants" of the flower bed or garden.

Between the rows of mallow, a weed is necessarily weeded, especially with a voluminous root system, which can affect the development of horticultural culture.

Prosvirnyak is unpretentious, you don't need to feed it, as it is planted in already prepared nutrient soil, reinforced with compost. But for rapid growth and the formation of a rich green mass, both organic and mineral dressings are used. Initially, the plant is fertilized with humus (3 kg per square meter), then mullein, urea or ammonium nitrate are gradually introduced.

Young growth tolerates frosts up to 30 degrees well. In regions with high soil freezing, the plant can be covered, for example, with pine branches.

In a warm and too humid climate, the aerial part of the plant is sometimes affected by a fungal disease - rust. The disease manifests itself by the formation of pads, which crack over time and scatter red powder (fungal spores). It gets on healthy plants and infects them. In the last stage of the disease, foliage affected by a red bloom turns yellow and crumbles, then the bush dies. To cure the plant, all affected leaves should be torn off and treated with fungicidal compounds with the presence of sulfur. You can use Bordeaux liquid or other drugs - "Strobi", "Poliram" and others.

In addition to rust, slugs bring a lot of trouble to the plant. They are collected by hand or metaldehyde preparations are used ("Groza-Meta"). Crushed eggshell scattered on the ground helps: it prevents parasites from spreading to other bushes.Forest mallow is a beautiful and medicinal plant. Whoever decides to plant her in his garden will be able to admire the flowering all summer, and along the way to cure diseases of the intestines, throat, as well as cough and skin problems.

In the next video, you will find additional information on the medicinal properties of mallow.