It self-seeds where it's comfortable, but since it's short-lived, that can be a good thing. Many grow it as a biennial. The seed pods are extremely noticeable, so you can easily clip them off before the seed ripens if you want to avoid reseeding. Or, you can easily collect the ripe seed, to start them where you want them, and trade off the balance.

Both replies are on the money. I totally agree with deeje, "The shape is similar to a shorter garden phlox, kind of a "mounding vertical" if that makes any sense. It was maybe... oh, 3 feet tall". Mounding vertical couldn't be a more perfect description of mine! I was debating being the first to reply, but put it off because I couldn't think of a good description ;)
Mine will be in it's third year, if it indeed returns (as donn stated, a biennial). I do harvest the seed, but I'm sure I've missed some over the last two years. Having said that, it hasn't reseeded for me at all, possibly because I harvested the seedpods and I just got lucky.

Y'all are wonderful! I am going to go on and plant it for it's form sounds perfect for the place I have. Seedlings I can deal with. It's wandering roots that scare me to death in this heavy clay I garden in. Thank you very much!

Hee! And here I thought that "mounded vertical" was going to make sense only to me (as many things do).

Thanks, donnabaskets, for reminding me of how pretty this plant is... I have a zebrina in my garden now, but I'll bet if I look around this spring I'll find room to let an alba loose as well!

Just now seeing this thread. I LOVE malvas. I have malva fastigata (pink ones) I've grown for years, always have tons of seeds and yes, they can be invasive. I recently got alba and zebrina seed and can't wait to give them a try.

To represent the other side, I hate Malvas. I only had the pink one, but it has been coming up in my beds for years now even though I cannot remember the last time I saw a bloom since I eliminate all the plants I see. The plant has a taproot which makes it hard to pull out if it has reached any maturity. Since I plant rather closely, it seeds in the middle of other plants which makes it difficult to pull out the taproot w/o pulling out the other plant. I do like Malva flowers, but I never seemed to deadhead it in time. If you can, then go for it. From what I remember, the foliage stays nice all season.

Too funny. How different our growing conditions are. I love these but they are short-lived perennials for me--never where I want them. But I have to leave them where they show up because they hate transplanting, no matter what care I give them. I do get some seedlings but not a lot. I just bought some yesterday to supplement the self-sown plants. Always buy small, young plants if you expect to see them the next year.

Hello,

I came across this thread on a Google search for Malva Moschata Alba and so I just now joined Garden Web in hopes that some of you who posted here are still active members even though the thread last posted in May 2007. My name is Douglas and I have been an avid gardener for about 20 years now. However, my real interest is in Natural Fragrance and Natural Perfumes. I personally LOVE all of the Malva's and have always included many variety's in my gardens over the years. But I have not had much experience with the Moschata cultivar's. At this time I am looking into Malva Moschata Alba in particular as several of my old Perfumery books state that this variety produces a Musk Fragrance in the entire plant? Some varieties are known to produce this fragrance in only the Seed, Flower, or Root portion of the plant. I produce limited edition Natural Fragrance Extracts for Perfumers and Fragrance Enthusiast's around the world and am hoping that some of you here might be willing to advise me or share with me your experience with the different Malva Moschata's you have growing with regards to their fragrance and what parts of the plants you have noticed them in. If all goes well I am planning to plant and harvest several acres of Malva Moschata Alba or other Malva Moschata cultivars later this year or in early 2013. This harvest will be used to produce a quantity of Musk Mallow Absolute (which is a concentrated solvent extract) used to make Natural or partially Natural Perfumes by artists in the Fragrance and Flavor Industry. If I am able to get the information I need from experienced gardeners and growers like yourselves, to identify cultivar's with high fragrance content and where in the plant it is located. Or if I can at least confirm the information I have from these Old Fragrance Publications dated from 1851 to 1936. I believe that with your contributions of experience and information, Scentsual Antiquities, myself and the local farming community here in central Utah which have offered to provide the land, equipment and labor/skill to grow and harvest these plants for our project, that together we can succeed in producing this rare and beautiful Natural Fragrance Extract and make it finally available for use in a Perfume that can be enjoyed and experienced by everyone even if they can't visit your gardens or come to my Perfume Studio. This Natural Perfume has never before been made available to the public since by the time it was finally identified and researched, the Fragrance and Flavor Industry had turned to the cheap synthetic musks developed after World War II and which by the way were almost chemically identical to or closely related to Tri-Nitro Toluene or TNT and other Benzene related explosives which could be very cheaply produced in the post war explosives factories using left over stocks from the bomb production assembly lines.

Even today, one of these synthetic musks, Acetyl Di-Nitro-Butyl Toluene, known as Musk Ketone, is used in everything from Shampoo and Hair Conditioner, Soap, Laundry Detergent and Dryer Sheats/Fabric Softeners, Air Fresheners, Deodorants, and to add depth and fixation of fragrances for Toilet Paper, Toiletries and Shaving products in general, as well as Flavors and even the very most expensive and well known High End Perfumes of France, England and America and is still among the most widely used Musk Fragrances in spite of it's toxicity and the environmental impact caused in producing it.

Any of you who would like to contribute your knowledge and experience to this and other projects that I and Scentsual Antiquities are regularly involved in to identify, extract and produce Natural Fragrance Materials as alternatives to the synthetic chemicals now used and to support with your knowledge, observations and experience the movement toward a healthier and greener environment, this is your chance! Please email me, Douglas at ScentsualAntiquities@yahoo.com and reference your email Malva Moschata Alba so that we can establish contact with one another.

You may also follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/scentsualantiquities and via the Scentsual Antiquities website at http://www.scentsualantiquities.com/.

My Gratitude and Thanks in advance to any of you able and willing to advise me and share your experience and knowledge of the Malva Moschata cultivars with me.

Be Blessed,

Douglas

malvas - hate 'em - the worst. most invasive, nastiest rustiest most horrible weed on my allotment. Will take 1000 acres of bindweed in preference. However, there are mallows....and mallows and M.sylvestris is the absolute worst of the lot (including Zebrina, Primley Blue et al). Roots down to Australia and a milion seedlings with belligerent taproots after two weeks from germination.
Otoh, the musk mallow is nowhere near as bad - but also nowhere near as impressively floriferous - big greyish felty leaves and tiny little grey flowers (and those roots). If you really want to push the boat out, then consider althea cannabina - a rather wonderful, late flowering 'see through' plant with dainty flowers on a good 7foot plant. This has been my replacement for the ubiquitous Verbena bonariensis for the past few years. Easy from seed (of which there will, as usual, be many).

campanula - that description doesn't sound like M moschata to me. I consider it a very pretty wild flower and in its white form a nice garden plant. I don't recognise the 'grey flowers' and 'big greyish felty leaves' at all. Are we talking about the same plant? Felty leaves sounds more like Marsh Mallow.

Oh yep, you are absolutely right, Flora - am confusing musk mallow (M.moschata) with marshmallow (althea officianalis). I have had them both but they were banished in favour of their more floriferous relatives (Sphaeralcea, Sidalcea, Malvastrum et al) And therein lies the clue to my dissatisfaction since I absolutely LOVE the mallow shape but was just disenchanted with the quantity of leafage to flower (and a slightly anaemic pink) and a horrid feeling that I was inviting more of the dreadful M.sylvestris anywhere near my allotment (my slacker neighbours are infested with it and it really has become my most hated weed by a long, long way).

if I want these to be lush and fill of flowers September 12 for my daughter's backyard wedding, would cutting out back August 18 be about the correct timing? (I'll be away from home for the beginning of August until the 18 so plants won't get deadheaded while I'm away...) I usually ignore these plants most years, but find that they tend to get scraggly by mid August so I'd like to encourage them to perform nicely into September this year.

crazy auto correct, let me try that again...
if I want these to be lush and full of flowers September 12 for my daughter's backyard wedding, would cutting it back August 18 be about the correct timing? (I'll be away from home for the beginning of August until the 18 so plants won't get deadheaded while I'm away...) I usually ignore these plants most years, but find that they tend to get scraggly and many of the long stems tip over and it looks messy so I'd like to encourage them to perform nicely into September this year and look a bit neater. honestly even if it was just tidy and green without flowers we'd be happy.