Lavatera 'Barnsley Baby' (Tree Mallow) – Compact Flowering Shrub (2L Pot)

Lavatera 'Barnsley Baby' is a compact tree mallow that opens funnel shaped blush white flowers with a rose pink eye from June until October.

It flowers without a break for months, which is unusual in a shrub, and it does it on a plant of only about one and a quarter metres each way, so it suits a small garden or a big pot where the full sized Barnsley would be too much. The leaves are soft grey green and lobed, and give the plant a Mediterranean look even out of flower. Bees and butterflies come to it constantly.

Give it full sun and soil that drains freely, including chalky and sandy ground, and keep it out of heavy wet clay. It stands salt air, so it is a good coastal plant, but the stems are brittle and snap in strong wind, so choose a sheltered spot in an exposed garden. Once established it needs very little water.

Cut it back hard in spring to a low framework of woody stems and it comes back strongly. Treat it as a fast, generous gap filler rather than a shrub for life: mallows grow quickly, flower hard and tend to split apart after four or five years. Supplied as an established plant in a 2L pot.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Tree mallow, hardy mallow
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: About 1.2m tall by 1.2m wide
• Growth Habit: Compact, bushy, well branched shrub
• Perfect For: Sunny borders, cottage gardens, coastal gardens and large containers
• Foliage: Soft grey green lobed leaves
• Flowering Time: June to October
• Planting Position: Full sun in a sheltered spot. Fully hardy, drought tolerant once established, salt tolerant and happy in a container.
• Soil Type: Free draining soil, including chalk and sand. Avoid heavy wet clay.
• Hardiness: Hardy in most of Britain, but naturally short lived, and a hard winter on wet soil can finish an older plant
• Maintenance: Cut back hard to a low woody framework each spring.
• Seasonal Interest: Summer and autumn
• Type: Hardy flowering shrub