N/E/X/T/Garden:  Featured Native Plant

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Malva assurgentiflora (Island Tree Mallow)
 
Identifying Characteristics:
Grows to 6’-20’ high and 5’-12’ wide
Leaves are blue-gray-green and palmate
Bark is grayish
Flowers shade from rosy-lavender to white
Blooms from mid-spring to late-summer (and ongoing)
Geometric seed capsules age to golden brown
 
Landscape Values:
Fast growth rate
Can be tip-pruned for informal hedging/screening or limbed-up as a small “patio tree”
Minimal root-heaving of masonry at least two feet away (with deep watering)
Attractive evergreen foliage plant (e.g. when out of bloom)
Attracts hummingbirds & butterflies
Forage for West Coast Lady Butterfly caterpillars
 
Horticultural Requirements:
Full to part sun
Drought-tolerant but tolerates garden watering (deep watering maintains foliage during drought)
Needs decent drainage (sand to clay loam)
Neutral soil acidity/alkalinity (pH 5.5-8.0)
Tip-prune intermittently for compactness, if desired, minimizing flower/bud removals
Structural (drop) pruning is best done in late-summer, if desired
 
Native Range:
Anacapa, San Clemente, and Santa Catalina Islands
 
Uses by Native Americans:
Raw fruit and boiled leaves used for food


For more information about the N/E/X/T/Garden, where this Featured Native Plant grows, click here.
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For additional information about this Featured Native Plant, email:  Info@PalisadesBeautiful.org.