New Mexico Prairie Mallow, Salt spring checkerbloom, Thurber's checkerbloom
Sidalcea neomexicana
Family: Malvaceae
What it is like
Sidalcea neomexicana is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.8 m (2ft 7in). The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist or wet soil.
Height (m): 0.8
Where it is found
Wet meadows and streamsides in moist usually strongly alkaline soils, 1500 - 2850 metres.
South-western N. America - Wyoming, New Mexico, California, Idaho and Arizona.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 1
Leaves - cooked as greens.
Medicine
Rating: 1
A cold infusion of the plant has been used in the treatment of internal injuries.
Miscellany: Various medicinal actions that need more clarification.
Other
Rating:
Miscellany: A rag-bag of items that are difficult to categorise.
How it is grown
Prefers a deep fertile well-drained but moisture-retentive soil in a sunny position but with some shade at the hottest part of the day. Hardy to at least -15°c, but where prolonged cold spells without snow cover are experienced it is best to apply a good mulch of bracken in the winter. Plants thrive in climates with relatively cool summers and mild winters. If the plants are cut back immediately after flowering they will produce a second flush of flowers in late summer. Plants are sometimes infested with rust, Puccinia malvacearum.
Propagating it: Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division in spring.
Best place to grow: Bog Garden; Cultivated Beds;
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 0-0
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist, wet