{"title":"Turk's Cap (Malvaviscus)","description":"\u003cp\u003eA Turk's cap flower never opens. The scarlet petals stay furled into a tight twist like a small turban, the staminal column pushes out past the tip, and hummingbirds and butterflies work the flowers exactly as designed, hovering at the mouth of a bloom that stays closed on purpose. The habit gives the genus a common name and makes the plants unmistakable in a border.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMalvaviscus drummondii\u003c\/em\u003e is the Gulf Coast and Texas native, a soft-wooded perennial shrub that dies back in a hard winter and comes roaring out of the ground again, blooming from summer until frost. Two virtues make the plant unusually useful: the flowers hold up in real shade, which almost no hummingbird plant does, and the whole clump tolerates dry ground under trees. 'Pam Puryear' opens soft pink and honors the Texas garden historian who found the plant; 'Big Momma' comes out of a cross with the taller tropical \u003cem\u003eMalvaviscus arboreus\u003c\/em\u003e and gains size fast. Cut them to the ground in late winter and stand back.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"malvaviscus-arboreus","title":"Malvaviscus arboreus","description":"\u003cp\u003eMalvaviscus arboreus, affectionately known as Turk's cap, has charmed gardeners for generations with vibrant, coiled blooms that never quite open, each red flower staying furled like a little turban, which is exactly how the plant earned its name. A close cousin of the hibiscus in the mallow family, Malvaceae, this tough, subtropical shrub carries a story as rich as the scarlet flowers, and two more common names besides: wax mallow and sleeping hibiscus.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTurk's cap is native to the warm country of Mexico, Central America, and the Gulf Coast of the southern United States, where the shrub grows as a shady understory plant along forest edges, open woods, and riverbanks. Gardeners have cherished the plant for centuries, not only for beauty but for the steady support the flowers give to pollinators and wildlife through a long season.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe bright red flowers, two to three inches long, keep that elegant swirled form from late spring clear through fall, and often into winter where frost stays away. Hummingbirds find them irresistible, a vital late-season fuel for ruby-throated and black-chinned hummingbirds alike, and butterflies work them too. Small red fruits follow, like tiny apples, mildly sweet and edible, relished by finches, mockingbirds, and other birds, and the flowers themselves are edible as well.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn frost-free regions Turk's cap stands as a dense evergreen shrub; from about zone 8 the top dies down in winter and the plant returns with vigor from the root each spring. To carry a plant through a hard winter at the cold edge of the range, cut the top back in late fall and mound sand and mulch over the crown, removing it in spring. Heat and drought hold no terror for this shrub, and unusually for such a free bloomer, Turk's cap flowers well even in shade.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGive Turk's cap rich soil, ample water, and a hot, sunny to partly shaded spot, and the shrub becomes a centerpiece of the summer garden, four to six feet of continuous bloom in beds, borders, or an informal hedge. Whether grown for the botanical curiosity of those furled flowers, the parade of hummingbirds, or the easy, drought-proof toughness, Malvaviscus arboreus earns a place in any warm-climate garden.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057921790067,"sku":"MALV-ARBO-01G","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-900.jpg?v=1720139579"},{"product_id":"malvaviscus-arboreus-pink","title":"Malvaviscus arboreus (pink)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is the uncommon pink-flowered Turk's cap, a soft-toned form of the familiar scarlet Malvaviscus arboreus, a subtropical relative of the hibiscus in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The flowers carry the same charming quirk as the red kind: two to three inches long, they never open flat like a hibiscus but stay furled in a little turban, glowing here in clear pink rather than red.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTurk's cap is herbaceous at the cold edge of the range and a shrubby evergreen where winters stay mild. From about zone 8 the top dies back in winter and the plant returns from the root each spring; to carry a plant through a hard freeze in marginal areas, cut the tops back in late fall and mound the stubs with sand and mulch, clearing it away when warm weather returns. Heat and hot summers suit the plant perfectly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor all the soft color, this pink form is every bit the wildlife plant the red cousin is. The furled flowers pour nectar for hummingbirds and butterflies from late spring through fall, and small, apple-like red fruits follow, mildly sweet, edible, and quickly taken by birds. The blooms come without pause through the hottest months, when many other flowers falter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGive the pink Turk's cap rich soil and ample water in a sunny to partly shaded bed or border, and the shrub rewards with four to six feet of continuous, soft-pink bloom, a showy and unusual subject for a mild-climate garden. Few plants are so generous through summer heat, so tolerant of shade, or so beloved by hummingbirds, and the pink form brings a gentler note to a planting than the vivid scarlet.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057921855603,"sku":"MALV-ARBO-PINK-01G","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-1255.jpg?v=1720139583"},{"product_id":"malvaviscus-drummondii","title":"Malvaviscus drummondii","description":"\u003cp\u003eMalvaviscus drummondii is the small Turk's cap, the wild, native cousin of the larger Mexican wax mallow and, for many Southern gardeners, the better plant of the two. A relative of the hibiscus in the mallow family, Malvaceae, this shrubby perennial is native to Texas, the Gulf Coast states, and on south, and grows wild in the dappled shade of woodland edges and stream banks where few other bright flowers will bloom.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe flowers are the same enchanting puzzle as the rest of the tribe: bright red, less than two inches long, and furled tight so they never quite open, like a hibiscus caught mid-yawn. They come without pause through the hot months, when hummingbirds need them most, and small apple-like fruits follow, red and mildly sweet, edible and quickly taken by birds. In good conditions the plant self-sows gently, so a single shrub can become a soft colony over time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor gardens in the middle and upper South, the small Turk's cap has a real advantage over the larger species: it is markedly hardier. Where Malvaviscus arboreus sulks at the first hard freeze, this native behaves as a reliable perennial across most of the South, dying back in winter and returning from the root, and growing more shrubby only in the warmest sections. The genus name Malvaviscus means sticky mallow, and drummondii honors Thomas Drummond, the Scottish naturalist who botanized Texas in the 1830s.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBest of all, the small Turk's cap flowers freely in shade, which makes the plant invaluable for the dry, dappled places where color is hard to come by, under high trees, along a shaded fence, or at a woodland edge. Give the shrub a sunny to partly shaded bed with well-drained soil, and it asks almost nothing in return: heat, drought, and poor soil hold no terror for a plant this tough. Three to six feet of nonstop red bloom and a steady traffic of hummingbirds is a fair return for so little trouble.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057922019443,"sku":"MALV-DRUM-01G","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/20B56AE0-63B3-48F1-A10F-0852938850FA.jpg?v=1725561029"},{"product_id":"malvaviscus-drummondii-alba","title":"Malvaviscus drummondii alba","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is the white-flowered small Turk's cap, an uncommon and quietly beautiful form of the normally scarlet Malvaviscus drummondii. The flowers keep the familiar furled, never-opening Turk's cap shape, under two inches long and produced steadily through the hot months, but open in clean, soft white rather than red, a cool and unexpected note in the summer garden.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOur plants came from the plantsman Greg Grant, of the Stephen F. Austin State University arboretum in Nacogdoches, Texas. Like the wild species, this white form is a hibiscus relative in the mallow family, Malvaceae, native to the Gulf Coast states and on south, and just as attractive to hummingbirds as the red kind. Small apple-like fruits ripen from white to red, edible and mildly sweet, and the plant self-sows gently where content.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSmall Turk's cap earns its keep in the hardest parts of a Southern garden. The species is notably hardier than the larger Mexican wax mallow, Malvaviscus arboreus, and in most of the South behaves as a perennial, dying back in winter and returning from the root, growing more shrubby only in the warmest sections. Heat, drought, and dry shade are all taken in stride.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe white form is especially lovely in a shaded or evening garden, where pale flowers glow after the sun drops, and it makes a fresh companion to ferns, hostas, and other shade plants at a woodland edge or along a dry, dappled fence. Give a sunny to partly shaded spot with well-drained soil, and the shrub flowers freely even in shade, three to six feet of soft white bloom and a steady traffic of hummingbirds through the heat of the year.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057922347123,"sku":"MALV-DRUM-ALBA-01G","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-1256.jpg?v=1720139590"},{"product_id":"malvaviscus-drummondii-pam-puryear-pam-puryear","title":"Malvaviscus drummondii 'Pam Puryear'","description":"\u003cp\u003e'Pam Puryear' is the soft-pink small Turk's cap, a lovely departure from the usual fire-engine red of this tough native mallow. The furled, never-quite-open flowers keep the charming Turk's cap form, less than two inches long and produced without pause through the hot months, but here they glow a gentle shell pink that reads cool and quiet in the summer border.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe selection carries a good Texas pedigree. 'Pam Puryear' is a fairly recent introduction by the plantsman Greg Grant, who named it for the late Pam Puryear, a Texas garden historian remembered for finding and preserving many antique roses. Like the wild species, this is a hibiscus relative in the mallow family, Malvaceae, native to Texas, the Gulf Coast, and on south, and every bit as beloved by hummingbirds as the red form.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSmall Turk's cap is a plant for the long, hot Southern summer. In most of the South 'Pam Puryear' behaves as a perennial, dying back in winter and returning from the root, growing more shrubby only in the warmest sections, and the plant is notably hardier than the larger Mexican wax mallow, Malvaviscus arboreus. Small red apple-like fruits follow the flowers, edible and mildly sweet, and the shrub will self-sow gently where happy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePut the soft pink to work where a quieter color is wanted: a shaded border, a woodland edge, the dry ground under high trees, or a mixed bed with silver and blue companions. Like all the Turk's caps, 'Pam Puryear' flowers freely even in shade, shrugs off heat and drought, and asks only a sunny to partly shaded spot with well-drained soil. Three or four feet of gentle pink bloom, alive with hummingbirds, is an easy pleasure for a tough spot.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057922412659,"sku":"MALV-DRUM-PAM-PURY-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/MalvaviscusPamPuryeorWoodlanders1.jpg?v=1785204978"},{"product_id":"malvaviscus-drummondii-x-arboreus-big-momma","title":"Malvaviscus drummondii x arboreus 'Big Momma'","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis shrubby plant has showy red flowers and leaves that are intermediate between the parent species (which see). A relatively recent Texas introduction by Greg Grant, this should prove a garden worthy plant that is likely to be a bit more cold-hardy than the Malvaviscus arboreus parent. Some consider Malvaviscus drummondii to be a variety of Malvaviscus arboreus but we find them quite different and distinct.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057922478195,"sku":"MALV-DRUM-ARBO-BIG-01G","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-1967.jpg?v=1720139596"}],"url":"https:\/\/woodlanders.net\/collections\/turks-cap.oembed","provider":"Woodlanders","version":"1.0","type":"link"}