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Is this a mallow and when is it pruned?

Q Is this plant a member of the mallow family and, if so, how and when should I prune it?

Peter Auty (via email)

A It took me a while to wade through all the members of the mallow family to identify your mystery plant, but I got there in the end! I am delighted to tell you that your plant is the African mallow or Cape mallow and the Latin name is Anisodontea capensis.

This is an upright sub-shrub, which means the base of the stems go woody but often the tops are more like those of a perennial, with hairy stems and small, hairy, evergreen leaves. The flowers resemble a small hibiscus, ranging from pale pink to dark red-purple, and appear in summer and autumn.

As you can imagine from the name, this plant is native to South Africa and, as such, it is not reliably hardy in this country. In a sheltered, sunny spot on free-draining soil it may well survive the winter outdoors, but you would normally see it grown in a cool greenhouse, for summer bedding or as a patio plant.

Any pruning necessary is simply a matter of removing the tips of the upright stems on young