Checker-mallow

Year-round

Checkerbloom (Sidalcea malviflora) is a low, clumping mallow relative native to the grassy slopes and mesas around Los Angeles, and it settles into a yard here without much fuss.

• Give it half a day of sun to full sun. In hot inland parts of LA a little afternoon shade keeps the leaves from looking scorched.
• Water regularly during the cooler wet months and taper off once summer heat arrives. This plant is built around a wet winter and a dry summer nap.
• It tolerates a wide range of soil types as long as the spot drains reasonably well.
• Pink flower spikes open in the morning and twist closed again by evening, blooming from spring into early summer.
• It has special value to native bees, and it does not appear on the ASPCA toxic plant list for dogs.

Fall

Fall is planting and seeding season for checkerbloom in Los Angeles, timed just ahead of the winter rains.

• Fall is the best time to plant new checkerbloom or sow seed, right before the rainy season takes over the watering.
• If you are starting from seed, soak it in hot water overnight first. This softens the hard seed coat and speeds up sprouting.
• Water in any new plantings by hand until the rains become reliable.
• Established plants need little to no extra water yet. They are still coming off their summer rest.

Winter

Winter is when checkerbloom does its underground growing in Los Angeles, powered by the rainy season.

• Let winter rain handle the watering. Only step in with a hose during an unusually dry stretch.
• This is the time to divide crowded clumps if you want more plants, cutting the root crown into two or three pieces and spacing them out.
• Make sure the spot drains well. Soggy soil in a wet winter is more of a risk to this plant than dry soil in summer.
• Pull winter weeds from around the base before they crowd out the new spring growth.

Clearing winter weeds from around the base keeps the bed looking cared for heading into spring bloom.

Spring

Spring is checkerbloom's big show in Los Angeles, with pink blooms opening morning after morning.

• Keep the soil evenly moist through spring since this is the plant's main active growth and flowering stretch.
• Watch for native bees working the blooms in the morning hours, then closing again by evening.
• New growth from the rhizomes can sprawl a bit. A light stake helps only if floppy stems bother you, it is not required.
• If a few early flower spikes finish blooming, you can snap them off, but the plant will keep flowering either way.

Snapping off a few spent flower spikes keeps the front bed looking tended for anyone walking by, though skipping it will not hurt the plant.

Summer

By summer in Los Angeles checkerbloom is winding down and wants a dry rest, not more water.

• Ease off watering as summer heat sets in. This plant expects a dry summer, and keeping it too wet now risks rot.
• Once flowering fades, cut the spent stalks back to the low basal leaves. It sometimes rewards this with a smaller second flush.
• Leave a few seed heads on the plant if you want it to reseed itself for next year.
• The foliage may look rough or partly dormant in a hot, dry stretch. That is normal for this plant, not a sign something is wrong.

Cutting the spent flower stalks back once bloom fades keeps the front yard looking intentional instead of leggy through late summer.