Callirhoe involucrata
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Tried and True Recommended by 10 Professionals
Species Native to Missouri
Common Name: purple poppy mallow
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Malvaceae
Zone: 4 to 8
Native Range: North Dakota, Wyoming, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Utah
Garden Location: Lois Whiteside Franklin Flower Trial Garden, Martha Love Symington Missouri Native Shade Garden, Lucy and Stanley Lopata Prairie Garden, Suzanne Stagg Wright Rock Garden
Height: 0.5 to 1 feet
Spread: 0.5 to 3 feet
Bloom Time: May to June
Bloom Color: Pink, Purple
Bloom Description: Magenta
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Flowers: Showy Flowers
Tolerates: Dry Soil, Shallow, Rocky Soil, Drought
Uses: Will Naturalize

Culture

Easily grown in dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Grows well from seed and may self-seed in the garden in optimum growing conditions. Long tap root gives plant good drought tolerance but makes transplanting of established plants difficult.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Purple poppy mallow is a mat-forming, Missouri native perennial which most frequently occurs in dryish, rocky soils in prairies, fields and along roadsides scattered in several counties mostly northeast of the Missouri River. Plants typically form a low foliage mound from 6-9" tall on procumbent stems which spread along the ground to 3' wide. Solitary, upward facing, cup-shaped, five-petaled, poppy-like, magenta flowers (to 2.5" wide) continuously appear on thin stems above the foliage from mid-spring to fall. Stamens form a prominent central column typical of mallow family members, but with distinctive style branches. Leaves are palmately divided into 5-7 finger-like lobes. The closely-related Missouri native fringed poppy mallow (Callirhoe digitata) is, by contrast, a spindly, erect plant which typically grows 2-3' tall.

Plant of Merit

This low-growing, Missouri native perennial features cup-shaped, poppy-like, bright magenta flowers and palmately lobed, dark green leaves on stems that scramble along the ground to 3 feet wide. Flowers bloom primarily from late spring to mid-summer, with some continued bloom into fall. An excellent, airy, flowering ground cover for borders, rock gardens, cottage gardens, naturalized areas or meadows. May need protection from rabbits.

Problems

No serious insect or disease problems. Crown rot may occur in poorly drained soils.

Garden Uses

Good native ground cover. Border fronts, rock gardens, native plant gardens, wild gardens, naturalized areas or meadows. Sprawl over a stone wall. Fits well into both formal garden areas as well as wild/naturalized areas.

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