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
The dataset already has 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.
Method: Direct sow: Direct-sow outside. Lavatera (Annual Mallow) doesn't transplant well, or doesn't need the extra time indoors.
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
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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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