Lavatera 'Bredon Springs' (Tree Mallow) – Flowering Shrub (2L Pot)

Lavatera 'Bredon Springs' is a tree mallow that opens funnel shaped dusky pink flowers, veined a deeper pink, from June until October.

It flowers without a break for months, which is rare in a shrub, and it grows quickly to about one and a half to two metres tall by a metre or so across, so it fills a new border faster than almost anything else. The leaves are soft grey green and lobed and look Mediterranean even before the first flower. Bees and butterflies are on it all summer.

Give it full sun and light, free draining soil. It stands salt air and is a good coastal choice, though the stems are brittle and snap in strong wind, so pick a sheltered corner in an exposed garden. Avoid heavy ground that lies wet in winter, which is what usually kills a mallow rather than cold. Once established it copes well with dry spells.

Cut it back hard each spring, to around thirty centimetres, and it will build itself again and flower on the new wood. Treat it as a fast, generous gap filler rather than a shrub for life: mallows tend to go woody and split apart after four or five years. Supplied as an established plant in a 2L pot.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Tree mallow
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: 1.5 to 2m tall by 1 to 1.5m wide
• Growth Habit: Bushy, upright, vigorous shrub
• Perfect For: Sunny and mixed borders, cottage gardens, Mediterranean planting and coastal gardens
• 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 and salt tolerant.
• Soil Type: Light to medium free draining soil. Avoid heavy waterlogged ground.
• 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 each spring to encourage strong new flowering growth.
• Seasonal Interest: Summer and autumn
• Type: Hardy flowering shrub