How to Grow Marshmallow (Herb)

Planting Marshmallow (Herb)

Marshmallow (Herb) is a cool season herb in the Malvaceae family. Getting the timing right is the difference between a strong stand and a disappointing one, so the windows below are given relative to your own last spring frost and first fall frost rather than a generic calendar date. Look up your local frost dates and count back or forward from there.

You can sow Marshmallow (Herb) directly into the garden 0–2 weeks before your last frost.

Marshmallow (Herb) can be grown by direct sowing and transplanting. Direct sowing avoids transplant shock, while direct sowing is simplest where the season is long enough.

Spacing and Planting Depth

Give Marshmallow (Herb) room to mature. The figures below come from verified extension and seed-supplier data for typical varieties.

Days to Maturity

Marshmallow (Herb) reaches maturity in 120–150 days from sowing.

Marshmallow (Herb) is ready to harvest after about 135 days. Harvest before summer heat or, for fall crops, before a hard freeze, to keep quality high.

Conditions and Care

As a cool-season herb, Marshmallow (Herb) does its best growing in the cooler weather of spring and fall and tends to bolt or turn bitter in summer heat. It is frost hardy and can shrug off light freezes, so it can stay in the ground later into the season than tender crops.

Marshmallow (Herb) needs full sun — give it at least six hours of direct light a day for the best growth and flavor. Sow seed about 0.25 inches deep — small seed is sown shallow and barely covered, then keep the soil evenly moist until seedlings establish.

Marshmallow (Herb) belongs to the Malvaceae family; rotating where you grow members of this family each year helps limit the build-up of soil-borne pests and disease. Marshmallow (Herb) is generally grown as a single planting each season rather than succession sown.

Growing Notes

Perennial medicinal herb; pollinator plant.

Sources

• Cornell Extension