Growing Lavatera (Annual Mallow): A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · August 20, 2026
Lavatera is the annual mallow, and the one that flowers properly in its first summer.
Compared with our other mallow
This site also covers high mallow, which is a biennial: leaves the first year, flowers the second. Lavatera trimestris is a true annual that goes from a spring sowing to a full display by July and holds it into September. If you want mallow flowers this year, this is the one.
Sow it where it will grow
It resents root disturbance badly enough that transplants sulk or die outright. Direct sow after the last frost, about a quarter of an inch deep, and thin rather than moving seedlings around.
At two to four feet tall and two to three feet across, it needs real space and belongs on the north edge of a bed. NC State Extension lists it across zones 2a through 11b, which is another way of saying it grows anywhere as a summer annual.
Deadhead and it keeps going
Left to set seed it slows down. Cutting the spent flowers off keeps it producing into early autumn, and the stems are long enough to be worth bringing indoors.
Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, Lavatera trimestris.
Companion planting guide for Lavatera (Annual Mallow) · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 2-11. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Mature height: 2-4 ft
Method: Direct sow: Direct-sow outside. It doesn't transplant well, or doesn't need the extra time indoors.
When to plant lavatera (annual mallow), by zone
Every zone lavatera (annual mallow) grows in. Pick your zone in the header and it will be highlighted here. Each zone links to its full page.
| Zone | Start indoors | Sow or plant out | Bloom |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2a & 2b | Not usually | May 20–May 27 | Aug 18–Aug 25 |
| 3a & 3b | Not usually | May 30–Jun 6 | Aug 28–Sep 4 |
| 4a & 4b | Not usually | May 15–May 22 | Aug 13–Aug 20 |
| 5a & 5b | Not usually | May 10–May 17 | Aug 8–Aug 15 |
| 6a & 6b | Not usually | Apr 25–May 2 | Jul 24–Jul 31 |
| 7a & 7b | Not usually | Apr 10–Apr 17 | Jul 9–Jul 16 |
| 8a & 8b | Not usually | Mar 25–Apr 1 | Jun 23–Jun 30 |
| 9a & 9b | Not usually | Feb 15–Feb 22 | May 16–May 23 |
| 10a & 10b | Not usually | Jan 30–Feb 6 | Apr 30–May 7 |
| 11a & 11b | Not usually | Jan 1–Jan 8 | Apr 1–Apr 8 |
Bloom dates are about 90 days after the sow or plant-out date.
Zone 2 sows before zone 3 here, which looks wrong and is not. USDA zones rank winter cold, not season length, and zone 2 is mostly interior Alaska, where hard winters come with warm summers. More on what a zone measures.
See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →
How many Lavatera (Annual Mallow) plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: about 4 square feet per plant (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 2-4 ft.
Where to buy lavatera seeds
True Leaf Market · High Mowing Organic Seeds (each supplier's lavatera seeds)
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See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing lavatera (annual mallow)" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
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Growing Lavatera (Annual Mallow): A two to four foot annual with satiny trumpet flowers, direct sown because it hates being moved.
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