She says, he says
Yes, it’s leaning halfway across the walk. Beauty before convenience.
He says: “What gorgeous color! Don’t touch it! I’d be happy to inconvenience myself for that plant!”
I have this dilemma just about every year. To chop or not to chop. Many years ago, I ordered a packet of Malva sylvestris subspecies mauritiana ‘Bibor Felho’ from Thompson & Morgan. The best of the original plants attained shrub-like proportions, with blossoms three inches across. Those plants died after the first year, being more of an annual than a perennial for me, but every year since then new plants have grown from seed.
Could you cut down this plant?
As we all know, when plants seed themselves, they find their own best place to sprout and grow. When this particular plant showed up this spring, it was on the outside of the railing, and since I had no reason to believe it wouldn’t stay there, I didn’t pull it. Just as your hair can look fine for weeks, and then suddenly you realize you need a haircut, somehow when my back was turned this mallow developed a decided lean. Of course I didn’t realize it until it was in spectacular bloom.
It may be leaning over the walk, but it’s gorgeous
And I bet you get your haircut before it looks like it needs it, too.
Thanks to the kindness of strangers (and the utility of search engines), I now know that bibor felho is Hungarian for purple cloud. It took me years to find that out, and it bothered me more than a shaggy haircut–or a shaggy plant.
No. I couldn’t cut it. Anything that can grow with such exuberance and beauty would be left to its natural loveliness.
Nor have I cut my hair in 20 years–so perhaps you have hit upon the correlation.
I’m ruthless with my Malva, yanking out seedlings & cutting back errant blooming stalks. Some of my Zebrinus seedlings look similar to your Bilbor Felho. I like it much better than Zebrinus.
I won’t trim or shear leaners, I’ll stake them before I cut them.
Malva reseeds here too and yours is beautiful. Am I to understand you let it lean?
Oh, I’m actually jealous of those neat people who have everything looking tidy. I strive for that. But, I have a giant sunflower leaning over my sidewalk to my back steps. It’s gorgeous. I stake and stake and stake yet he leans and leans and leans… I walk around.
The color is wonderful so I’d leave it, too. But then you’ve seen my hair, Kathy.
On second thought, maybe I’d try the horticultural equivalent of a ponytail band, using green twine in a figure-8 motion between plant and pipe to tug the purple cloud enough to the right so it wouldn’t get cracked or stepped on.
Bibor Felho, what a great name!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Nah, I probably would let it stay. We live in the country that we and the plants can ramble.~~Dee
I’d leave it be. I have zebrina and it behaves the same way. The original plant is gone, but not before seeding itself in several places. I now find myself watering one in the crack in the sidewalk that it calls home.
Knowing my neatnik tendencies, I have to admit that I’d probably cut it back. But I actually think it looks charmingly cottagey. And since it’s blocking your steps, not mine, I can cheerful say, Let it stay.
It’s certainly an attention seeker. Seems to be saying… “don’t come up here without looking at me first”!
It’s a beautiful obstruction and the name is certainly apt. Not only do plants seed themselves in inopportune spots in my garden, I plant them in such, forgetting that plants here frequently exceed the guidelines for height & width! Sometimes I cut them back … more often I just leave them be.
NO way would I cut that down! It’s beautiful!
I’m with you – my mail person got downright cranky about a pink mallow that grew in the way of my porch steps; but then my hair get’s away from me too. I’m in a balmy zone 4/5 area in SW NH. Love reading your blog!
This happens to me more often than I would like to admit. lol But once it’s in bloom you don’t want to cut it back. I think it looks fine myself. 🙂