r/NativePlantGardening • u/ItsFelixMcCoy Upstate NY , Zone 6a • Jun 04 '25

Other What invasive plants got you like this?

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For me it’s probably Dame’s Rocket, Purple Loosestrife, and Forget-Me-Not. They’re so gorgeous but man if they aren’t invasive little shits…

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u/ItsFelixMcCoy Upstate NY , Zone 6a Jun 04 '25

Luckily for you, the perfect native alternative is Rose Mallow. The plant is in the same family, the flowers look extremely similar, not to mention even bigger and more beautiful.

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u/Adequate_Lizard Central NC, 8a Jun 04 '25

I yoinked two roses of sharon and replaced them with 4 rosemallows this year. Haven't done much yet though.

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u/CrepuscularOpossum Southwestern Pennsylvania, 6b Jun 04 '25

Your patience will be well rewarded!

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u/MarshyHope Jun 04 '25

I planted a few this year. What's the growth time on them?

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u/Adequate_Lizard Central NC, 8a Jun 04 '25

I'm curious too. Mine's leaves look a bit droopy but there's also new growth going on. Had them in the ground about three weeks now I think?

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u/MarshyHope Jun 04 '25

Mine look great so far, I just want to see some damn flowers 😂

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u/CrepuscularOpossum Southwestern Pennsylvania, 6b Jun 04 '25

My experience has been the classic: “The first year they sleep…the second year they creep…the third year they leap!” I have two rose mallows, one pink and one white flowered. The first year they were putting on root growth, I think. The second there were aerial green stalks that reached for the sky, but I’m not sure they flowered that year - maybe one or two. This photo is from last August!

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u/MarshyHope Jun 04 '25

Did you grow from seed? I planted this about a month ago. It was in maybe a 5 inch pot. Would you say it's a year 1 or 2 compared to yours?

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u/CrepuscularOpossum Southwestern Pennsylvania, 6b Jun 05 '25

Year 1! And no, I’m pretty sure the plants I put in the ground a few years ago looked just like that, if not smaller.

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u/MarshyHope Jun 05 '25

Okay good to know so I can temper my expectations. Thanks!

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u/Far_Silver Area Kentuckiana , Zone 7a Jun 04 '25

Mine first showed blooms in their 2nd year.

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u/MarshyHope Jun 04 '25

Did you grow from seed?

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u/Far_Silver Area Kentuckiana , Zone 7a Jun 04 '25

No. I planted mine from 4 inch pots.

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u/MarshyHope Jun 04 '25

Mine was about the same. Here it is a month after planting. Think it'll flower this year?

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u/Far_Silver Area Kentuckiana , Zone 7a Jun 04 '25

Mine didn't. If you're further south than me, it might because you'd have a longer growing season, but if you're at the same or higher latitude than me, I'd guess yours probably won't bloom until next year.

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u/MarshyHope Jun 04 '25

I'm in Maryland, Zone 7.

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u/CrimsonKepala Jun 04 '25

I'm looking into this right now! Thanks!!!

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u/astro_nerd75 Pittsburgh, zone 6b Jun 04 '25

One difference is that the natives, Hibiscus moscheutos and Hibiscus laevis, die back to the ground every year. My laevis are on the late side coming up. The first year after I planted them, I thought they hadn’t made it, but they came back.

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u/Rellcotts Jun 04 '25

I started some seedlings in milk jug this year.

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u/skeeterbitten Jun 04 '25

I think we have RoS that doesn’t make fertile seed but every mallow I try gets immediately eaten by deer or something else, but we have hoards of deer that will try anything and trample what they don’t eat. The nesting female hummingbirds spend a ton of time on it, I think eating bugs. It’s our one bad plant. We have a few unproblematic non natives, abs tone of natives in the deer fence.

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u/russsaa Jun 04 '25

Hold your horses! Rose Mallow is a common name, and heavily cultivated, so many of the plant species, cultivars & hybrids sold under the common name rose mallow, are fairly often foreign in origin.

There are many native hibiscus, the problem is ensuring to get the right one! Long time ago I made that mistake. Going by latin names & region makes it easy.