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Checkerbloom / Prairie Mallow (Sidalcea malviflora) | $9.99 | 4-inch pot
🌿 Quick Facts: • Native Status: Native to western North America (Pacific coast); not a Colorado native • USDA Growing Zones: 5-9 • Height: 12-30 inches • Spread: 18-24 inches
🌺 Bloom Details: • Season: Late spring into midsummer • Colors: Pale pink to rosy pink-purple with darker veins • Flower Type: Miniature hollyhock-like 5-petaled cups on vertical racemes • Bloom Period: June-August
☀️ Growing Requirements: • Sun: Full sun to part shade • Water: Moderate — do not let it dry out completely • Soil: Tolerates a wide range; needs good drainage, especially in winter • Spacing: 18 inches apart
🦋 Pollinator Benefits: • Birds: Hummingbirds nectar at the flowers • Native Bees: Special value to native bees; draws mallow-specialist Diadasia bees • Butterflies: Good nectar; Mallow foliage hosts checkered skippers & West Coast lady • Beneficial Insects: Open bowl flowers feed hoverflies & small parasitic wasps
🌱 Plant Care: • Spring: Clear old foliage; divide crowded clumps; feed lightly • Summer: Shear spent spikes by a third for a second flush; keep evenly moist • Fall: Cut back, or leave a few seedheads to self-sow • Winter: Dies to the ground; light mulch but avoid wet crowns
🤝 Companion Planting: • Perfect paired with:
✨ Unique Characteristics: • Hollyhock flowers on a compact plant • Long 4-6 week bloom season • Excellent cut flower • Documented native-bee magnet • Deer tend to leave it alone • Short-lived — plan to divide or resow