Found this article...

Status
Not open for further replies.

Jentortmom

Active Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 21, 2007
Messages
1,445
Location (City and/or State)
Arizona
I found this article and thought I would share for any who have not seen it. Has anyone offered these to there torts? If so any problems?

http://www.vvdailypress.com/articles/mallow_11544___article.html/desert_globe.html

Daily Press
AWAC Plant of the Month
March 27, 2009 - 9:19 AM
LINDA ELLSWORTH SPECIAL TO THE DAILY PRESS
People who don't know the desert may think ithere is no color in native plants. The desert globe mallow is a wonderful example of the rich variety of color and texture that can be found throughout the Mojave and Sonoran Desert areas of California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona.

The Sphaeralcea is part of the mallow family (Malvaceae), in which there are 40 to 60 species, including annuals, perennials and shrubs. Sphaeralcea ambigua is the species commonly known as desert globe mallow or apricot mallow. Long wands of orange flowers, resembling miniature hollyhocks, adorn this desert beauty. The leaves are fuzzy and deeply lobed on long stems. The hair-like fuzz will rub off and can irritate the eyes, inspiring a lesser used common name, the sore-eye poppy.

The globe mallow will adapt well to the home or commercial landscape. Once established, it is extremely drought tolerant. Best planted in the fall, it should be watered regularly for the first season to allow the roots to grow deeply into the soil. Spring will bring spires of abundant, large peach-colored flowers, continuing into mid-summer when the heat has driven most other flowers out of bloom. Flower color can vary from shades of red through orange and pink, even to white. For best appearance, cut last year's stems back to ground level in late winter before the spring growth begins. This plant may reach 30 inches wide by 30 inches tall. High Desert gardeners will be pleased to know that the globe mallow will take to any soil type. It is reported to thrive even in heavy clay and does not require supplemental feeding. If gardeners have difficulty finding the desert globe mallow in local nurseries, we were able to find online suppliers who have them in stock.

In the wild, this plant will generally be found in sandy washes and rocky hillsides below 4,000 feet. It can sometimes be seen as a spring wildflower along roadways where runoff gives it added moisture. It is grazed upon by bighorn sheep and domestic sheep and goats. Local residents who foster the desert tortoise report it as a delicacy for the tortoise as well.
The Alliance for Water Awareness and Conservation (AWAC) is dedicated to helping our communities use water more efficiently. For more information, please visit our website at www.hdawac.org.
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,390
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
All of the mallows are supposed to be good tortoise food, however the mallow that shows up around here as a weed is very invasive. It goes to seed almost immediately after it sprouts from the ground and each little round seed pod contains hundreds of seeds. If you allow it to grow past the 6" stage the stem turns woody and makes the plant hard to chop. Really should be pulled up. I have cut off little branches of it and offered it to Dudley. He doesn't think it's food. Won't eat it. However I have several plants of mallow growing in the Aldabran pen and when they come across it they eat it to the ground. I recently bought a couple shrubs in the mallow family (can't remember the species name) and planted them in my new rain forest. It's a very pretty shrub and blooms continuously. I'd love to have one of the desert mallow plants. That's beautiful.

Yvonne
 

Jentortmom

Active Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 21, 2007
Messages
1,445
Location (City and/or State)
Arizona
emysemys said:
All of the mallows are supposed to be good tortoise food, however the mallow that shows up around here as a weed is very invasive. It goes to seed almost immediately after it sprouts from the ground and each little round seed pod contains hundreds of seeds. If you allow it to grow past the 6" stage the stem turns woody and makes the plant hard to chop. Really should be pulled up. I have cut off little branches of it and offered it to Dudley. He doesn't think it's food. Won't eat it. However I have several plants of mallow growing in the Aldabran pen and when they come across it they eat it to the ground. I recently bought a couple shrubs in the mallow family (can't remember the species name) and planted them in my new rain forest. It's a very pretty shrub and blooms continuously. I'd love to have one of the desert mallow plants. That's beautiful.

Yvonne

If you remember the name, will you let me know. I'm trying to come up with plants for my yard so I can finally finish off the landscaping. I'm hoping the big rocks I'm going to put down will detour the dogs from the tort area. I'll have to look and see what I can find. Thanks
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top