You should be growing Turk's Caps

If you aren't familiar with the genus Malvaviscus, or Turk's cap, you are missing out! Especially so if you live in the deep south as this is a tough-as-nails perennial that thrives in our hot summers. In fact, it usually doesn't start blooming until early July and doesn't get in full swing until August!

I first experienced this plant while working at the State Bot Garden in Athens, Ga way back in the early 2000s. When I first got the job I was working in the Heritage Garden, but I remember all of us had a group work day in the Latin American Section of the International Garden. It's there that I first encountered hardy Agaves, rain lilies, and Salvia 'Black and Blue'. But it was a huge clump of Malvaviscus, probably 15 feet wide and totally out of control, that made a lasting impression. Yet it wasn't until I worked at Plant Delights Nursery many years later, that I tried growing the plant for myself.

Malvaviscus is a relative of the hibiscus and, like its cousin, has a distinctive flower morphology. Without getting into too much detail, both have fused stamens and pistils that make a prominent "sexual core" to the flower. In Mavaviscus, this fused organ protrudes from the tightly wrapped petals. People often comment to me "When will it open?", but it never does, lol. For me, its appeal lies in its "secretive" yet intensely colorful flower.

Turk's caps make large sprawling perennials in a similar fashion to lantana. It is a clumper, but it also spreads around, or layers, itself and can overtake more subdued plants. I like to plant it in places where I don't mind it getting gargantuan. You also give it a good trim, by one-third, in late June so that it stays more compact. Though this may delay the flowers.

Luckily, because of plant breeders like Greg Grant in Texas, we have a few cultivars that extend the palette of colors beyond the typical intense red. My favorite form is named 'Pam Puryear's Pink' which is a delightful coral-pink selection. There is also a white form offered by Woodlander's Nursery in Aiken, SC.

It does produce edible fruit, though mealy and full of seed! In fact, you will sometimes see this plant called "Mexican Apple". It is used to make jellies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnbhrnKRGXI

In the trade, you will see basically two species of this genus. Drummondii, which is the smaller flowered and more hardy species, and arboreus, which has larger flowers and is really more of a zone 8 and higher perennial. Moreover, many of the cultivars we see in the trade came about through the hybridization of the two species. One such cultivar is 'Big Momma' offered occasionally through Plant Delights Nursery. It has larger flowers than the typical drummondii.