These pink flowers are Lavatera tauricensis (see an earlier post with info about the name being in doubt). I transplanted them to this backyard flowerbed in spring 2007, I think. Now that they’re established, they’ve grown well and are flowering like crazy. I love this plant, because it keeps flowering all summer long, even when it’s producing seeds.
I’ve given away a lot of these seeds, but people seem to have quite a bit of trouble getting them to germinate. I’ve done it before, but it did take some work and patience.
These have turned out not to bloom as long as they did in the front flowerbed by the rose hedge. I wonder if it’s because the roses gave them a little shade? Could partial shade prolong the bloom season? I used to say this Lavatera would continue to bloom very well even while setting seed, but now it seems that the seed production really has stopped much of the bloom.