Turk's Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii)

Also known as: Turkscap mallow

Quick Facts

• Type: shrub
• Size: 3-5 ft tall
• Sun: part
• Water: moderate
• Soil: Adaptable; moist, well-drained
• USDA zones: 8-10

Red turban-shaped flowers that never fully open – hummingbirds pry them open all summer.

Blooms in shade where little else does; a North and Central Florida hummingbird staple.

In the Landscape

One of the few shrubs that blooms heavily in part shade, making it ideal for understory plantings, shade gardens, and hummingbird gardens. It also works in mixed borders and containers in full sun to shade.

Care & Propagation

Plant in spring in part shade to sun in moist, well-drained soil, spacing 3 to 4 feet apart. Cut it back hard in late winter for compact, vigorous growth; it blooms even on short-pruned plants. Water until established, then it tolerates some drought.

Very easy to propagate. Take softwood stem cuttings in spring or summer, divide established clumps in early spring, or simply let it reseed itself. Branches layered onto the ground root on their own.

Wildlife Value

An important nectar source for female and juvenile ruby-throated hummingbirds, which visit the flowers constantly. It is also the primary host plant for the Turk's-cap white-skipper caterpillar.

🌱 Fun fact: The red flowers never fully open. They stay furled like a little Turkish turban or fez, which is exactly where the common name comes from.

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🌴 In Florida

Blooms in shade where little else does; a North and Central Florida hummingbird staple.

🌿 Keep exploring

More Florida natives worth meeting:

• Adam's Needle (Yucca filamentosa)
• Allegheny chinquapin (Castanea pumila)
• American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)