Anisodontea 'El Rayo'

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African mallow 'El Rayo'

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African mallow 'El Rayo' RHS / Joanna Kossak
African mallow 'El Rayo' RHS / Joanna Kossak
African mallow 'El Rayo' RHS

Synonyms

Anisodontea capensis 'El Rayo'

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Shrubs
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An upright, evergreen to semi-evergreen sub-shrub to around 1m tall with hairy stems and hairy, lobed leaves. Saucer-shaped pink flowers 3-4cm in diameter, with darker magenta-pink to reddish centres and veins, are borne from summer into autumn

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Loam, Sand

Max Height

0.5-1 metres

Max Spread

0.5-1 metres

Size

Time to Maturity
2–5 years
Max Spread
0.5-1 metres
Max Height
0.5-1 metres

Growing Conditions

Loam Sand
Moisture
Well–drained
pH
Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun
Aspect
South–facing or West–facing
Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

  • H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
  • H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
  • H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
  • H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
  • H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
  • H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
  • H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
  • H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
  • H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)
H2

Colour & Scent

Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Malvaceae
Native to GB/Ireland
No
Foliage
Evergreen, Semi evergreen
Habit
Bushy
Genus
Anisodontea are evergreen, woody-based perennials and shrubs with simple or palmately-lobed leaves and saucer-shaped, five-petalled flowers borne in the leaf axils over a long period between summer and autumn
Name Status
Accepted

How to Grow

Cultivation

May survive outdoors in a sunny, sheltered spot in mild areas but normally grown in a cool greenhouse for summer bedding or as a patio plant. Needs good drainage and full sun

Propagation

Propagate by seed in spring or by semi-ripe cuttings with bottom heat in summer

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • Mediterranean climate plants
  • Patio and container plants

Pruning

Pruning group 9, tip prune young plants to encourage bushiness

Pests

May be susceptible to glasshouse red spider mite, glasshouse whitefly and aphids

Diseases

Generally disease-free