Common Name: pink turk's-cap
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Malvaceae
Zone: 7 to 10
Height: 2.00 to 5.00 feet
Spread: 2.00 to 5.00 feet
Bloom Time: May to October
Bloom Description: Pink
Sun: Part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Flower: Showy
Attracts: Birds, Hummingbirds, Butterflies
Fruit: Showy
Tolerate: Drought, Clay Soil, Dry Soil
Culture
Best grown in moist, well-drained, loamy soils in part shade. Will adapt to a wide range of growing conditions, including full sun, dry soils, and clay soils. Hardy in Zones 8-10. In the colder parts of its hardiness zone, this plant is likely to die back to the ground during the winter, while in warmer climates it will remain evergreen.
'Pam Puryear' has a slightly increased hardiness compared to the species. This cultivar is reported to tolerate temperatures down to 5 F (Zone 7b). May require additional winter protection in an exposed site.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Malvaviscus drummondii, also known as turk's cap, is an upright, shrubby perennial native to eastern Texas and Louisiana, with other populations scattered throughout the Gulf Coast region of the United States. It is found growing on rocky slopes and along wooded stream banks and gullies. A small to medium sized evergreen shrub, ranging from 2-5' tall with an equal spread. The leaves (1.5-3.5" in diameter) have three, deep lobes and a cordate base. Bright red flowers (2-3" long) bloom from summer into fall on the ends of the stems, with a whorl of petals forming a tube from which the showy red pistil extends. The flowers are highly attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies. The fruits are round and berry-like (around 0.5" in diameter) and ripen from green to red. Birds and small mammals eat the fruit.
Genus name comes from the Latin words malva meaning mallow and viscidus meaning sticky in reference to the sap produced by genus members.
The specific epithet drummondii honors Scottish botanist and naturalist Thomas Drummond (1790-1835).
The common name refers to the shape of the flower, which is said to resemble a Turkish cap.
'Pam Puryear' is distinguished from the species by having soft pink flowers instead of red.
Problems
Watch for whiteflies. Otherwise no major insect or disease problems reported.
Uses
An attractive, flowering perennial or shrub for areas of the garden with some shade. Mixed borders, open woodland edges, or containers.