Seashore Mallow (Kosteletzkya pentacarpos)
Eye-catching solitary hibiscus-like 1 ½ - to 2 ½-in. pink flowers appear on Seashore Mallow from July to October, with their nectar attracting pollinators like hummingbirds, butterflies and other pollinators.
Seashore mallow is a low-maintenance native short -lived subshrub in the Malvaceae (mallow) family (the same family as cotton). Also known as sweat weed, Virginia saltmarsh mallow, and salt marsh mallow, this native plant is found in marshes and brackish water along the eastern seashore of the United States.
Seashore mallow is moderately salt tolerant, growing in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) in wet to well-drained but moisture-retentive sites. It can handle occasional flooding.
It grows 3- to 6-ft. tall and 2- to 4-ft. wide with soft gray-green angular leaves.
Consider including Seashore Mallow in a butterfly, native plant, pollinator, rain or water garden.
This plant was selected as the 1990 NC Wildflower of the Year, a program managed by the North Carolina Botanical Garden with some financial support from the Garden Club of North Carolina.
Flower detail | Bob Peterson | CC BY 4.0
Flower detail | Debbie Roos
Flower, Buds, Stem - Aug - Durham Co. NC | Girish Bhatt | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
By Kathryn Copley, Extension Master Gardener℠ Volunteer, Brunswick County, NC
For more information on gardening in Brunswick County, please call the Brunswick County Cooperative Extension Office, 910.253.2610.
SOURCES:
Kosteletzkya pentacarpos | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Kosteletzkya pentacarpos | Florida Native Plant Society