Potted Apricot Mallow plant in bloom. Photo copyright © 2025 Mariposa Native Plants
A small perennial shrub or small tree with bright, apricot-colored flowers. This plant is rather spindly when young, but at maturity it sports a number of stiff, sharp, woody branches. It is native to the desert regions of California, but it grows well in the Sierra foothills. This is a great plant for butterfly gardens. Also know as Desert Globemallow.
S. ambigua is found in the creosote scrub and chaparral areas of the Mojave Desert and on the east side of the Sierra Nevada. Its habitat ranges from sea level to over 7,000 ft. (2,500m). Sun: full sun. Temperature: cold tolerant to 10°F (-12°C). Soil: sandy, clayey, even alkaline. This plant greatly appreciates rocky terrain. Soil acidity: pH from 6 to 8.
Easy to care for once established. Moisture requirements for the Desert Globemallow are very low. For its first warm season, give the plant one gallon of water once per week. A good mulch for this plant is pea gravel. After the first substantial fall/winter rains arrive, stop supplemental watering. After one warm season with regular watering and one cool, wet season without watering, the plant should require no supplemental water.
Foothills (to 2500 feet), lower mountains (2500-3500 feet), and middle mountains (3500-7000 feet).
Some websites indicate that this plant is deer resistant. However, in the wild the plant is browsed by bighorn sheep and livestock; it should be expected that deer will also browse it, especially in the spring and late summer. It would be prudent to surround your specimens with a rabbit/deer screen and to provide it with a gopher screen as well. If you are planting it into a rocky outcrop or ledge, and gophers do not burrow into this site, then you might be able to omit the gopher screen.
There are very few pest problems with this plant. The main problem with Sphaeralcea ambigua care is over-watering. A secondary problem in cultivating this plant is planting in soil that is too dense and too rich; keep the site rocky, sandy, well-drained, and lean. Aphids might be a problem at times. They can be managed by applying a very weak solution of Dawn dishwashing liquid and water (1 tablespoon/gallon of water) sprayed onto the plant. Wash off the soap solution after two hours. Spider mites are sometimes a problem with Apricot Mallow. If the dishwashing liquid treatment does not prove effective, then try a horticultural oil such as neem, cottonseed, or canola oil.
#1 container, about 1 gallon; and #2 container, about 2 gallons.