PlantFiles: Buffalo Rose, Purple Poppy Mallow, Wine Cups
Callirhoe involucrata

kinda fun .. easy to grow, interesting. what more could you want. I think i have a hybrid that dosent set seed and the bloooms are very low to the growned. sadly gets the lawn mower a lot from my father who doesn't bother to see where he is mowing. But it will always recover within a few weeks like it never ever happened ...kinda cool

Love this plant! The silky look of the petals, the rich glowing color, and its tendency to noodle around its neighbors and pop up with a bloom in unexpected places--it'll clamber up a bit (leaning, not really climbing) as well as trailing. It's unfazed by living next to a concrete driveway in the summer heat; it does need some defense from the rabbits when it first comes out, as it seems to be a favorite of theirs. No volunteer seedlings yet in Zone 5b, but I'm hoping.

This plant has a lot going for it. It makes a fairly dense, sprawling ground cover that fills in well between shrubs and medium-sized perennials in a flower bed. The silver-veined foliage is at its most attractive in late spring/early summer, but the real selling point for this plant is the wonderfully abundant magenta/rich pink blooms that really catch your eye and add a brilliant splash of color from mid-spring through fall (in my zone 6b area). My plant is growing in a raised bed that gets full sun from sunup through mid-afternoon, and it fills in well between a dwarf mock orange, Clethra "Ruby Spice" shrub, and a few other taller perennials.

I had some Sempervivums planted near it that were crowded out, they couldn't take the shade created by the ground cover effect of this plant. I would not recommend planting this plant where it might crowd out smaller plants that you want to keep. It's not highly aggressive in my zone, it's just a vigorous grower that if left to its own will tend to crowd out smaller plants in a 2-4' radius.

It grows readily from seed, but does not transplant well after it matures because it has a deep tap root. The tap root is actually a plus though, it allows this plant to tolerate drier conditions.

This plant also grows in Campbellsville, Kentucky. I obtained a start of it while my daughter was living in Wichita, Kansas. Its spreading growth filled in a bare area nicely. I transplanted a large root or rhyzome last fall because I no longer needed ground cover in that area. I was afraid it had expired over winter, but healthy leaves are forming on it at present. I plan to get more, or divide the root of what I have, to cover some bare ground while we are awaiting shrubs to mature. My family in Campbellsville love the plant, but my daughter complained that she had to cut it as a weed in Kansas. Now that she lives in Indiana, she may like ours as well.

I just ordered this seed from Devonshire Gardens in Ontario. The information said that they needed to be sowed in very cool circumstances (41 deg. F) and it could be months to come up. So I guess they self-sow in Texas in the warmer areas in the winter and then bloom beginning spring. I don't know if I will have any luck this time, but I'm going to try to give it a shot. If anyone has any experience with these in Zone 6, plmk by d-mail.

if frostweed says its native then its native. i love it and will always have it in my garden. it reproduces easily here in texas but they are easily removed. i had at least one tuber that was about 5-6 inches in diameter. it sends out stems that radiate all around the sides and looks sort of like that swing ride at 6 flags. they have a long bloom time and you never have to deadhead for a beautiful shade of purple rain or shine. i thank God and Texas for this beautiful plant.

Very easy to grow and nice flowers but quite aggressive. I'm constantantly trimming back and pulling up seedlings to keep it under control.

I encourage these to naturalize in my (hope-to-be-someday-be) grass-free, bee-friendly, low-mow yard with lots of white clover, various wild strawberries as well as 5-10 other types of native blooming groundcovers (which I don't know the names of yet) that bloom every color imaginable. Between them all, there is something tiny blooming most every freeze-free period of the year--poppy mallow are some of the earliest to start and latest to finish with the heaviest bloom all spring, when I actually mow around them while in bloom because they keep their little area weed-free. They will come back and bloom the next day even if mowed--but they are not invasive. I love to look down as I'm walking and see what all types of tiny flowers are going and what type of wildlife is enjoying them--these are 50-cent piece sized when fully open and are the star of the show. I also let them scramble around feet in any flower bed they want because their color combines with any color.

It is easily distinguished from the tall poppy mallow (Callirhoe leiocarpa) whose flowers are quite similar. Callirhoe involucrata tend to trail close to the ground; whereas, Callirhoe leiocarpa is a tall, lanky, upright plant. Callirhoe involucrata flowers have an epicalyx (involucral bracts) which is a whorl of small bracts(modified leaves) just below the calyx. Callirhoe leiocarpa flowers do not have these bracts. Callirhoe involucrata has evergreen foliage.

Wine Cups, Purple Poppy Mallow Callirhoe involucrata is Native to Texas and other States.

I am interested in propagating my plant from stem cuttings or seeds. I'm on the water in MA zone 7a.
One of the most charming plants in my garden. It crawls in and out amongst a bed of Lady's Mantle. The combination is a show stopper

This plant sprawls and doesn't cover the ground, so I would suggest filling in with something like lamb's ear planted around the tap root. I have fuschia flowers blooming on a couple of these already, in early April. The lamb's ear pops up very early, and helps fill in the ground between the sprawls of the callirhoe. This year I'm going to try interplanting shasta daisies and tahoka daisies with the poppy mallow, and some live-fast-die-fast blue flax, which won't survive the brutal Sacramento summer heat, but will self-seed. The planting area is a 150' long strip next to my driveway that I do not water unless we have a very prolonged heat wave, so I'm after no-care plants that I can ignore. The poppy mallow fits this bill.

Tempted to give neutral, but I love the plant. I started with 5 plants from seed, lost 2 in 1st year. They must be planted in situ very early so as to establish their long tap root. 3 have survived around 4 years, lost 2 of them poss. all the mole activity. One remaining, which I don't want to lose.
I took seed off 3 years ago, but they failed to grow well, perhaps should have put in the ground. I kept them inside over next winter as spindly small plants, they didn't make it. Not had any good seed since, mine hasn't self seeded. I have it in a semi-shaded spot at the top of a bank, it looks lovely trailing down. Will have to try in a sunnier spot, maybe too shady for it.

I have this growing in my outlawn area, between the sidewalk and street. It is one of the plants in this "experimental garden" that will tolerate the heavy salt spray. I planted 2" pots almost three years ago. Lots of de-icing salt, sun, and very silty soil over hard clay, and it performs beautifully. I will be adding more to achieve a ground cover effect, as it doesn't form much of a mat, rather sprawling on long stems, but I love the way the blossoms seem to pop up from nowhere among the other plants (mostly weeds at this point).

In Nebraska "cowboy rose" is the common name. It seems wide spread in the state, I have observed it wild on both very sandy soil and clay loams. It seems to be extremely drought tolerant, but I have not observed it on wet sites for performance. I have grown it in my garden for several years now. It will self seed, however is not what I would consider invasive. The growth habit is several loose growing vines up to 5 foot long that sort of drape themselves over surrounding foliage. A single plant will not cover the ground well, but if one has several close together the vines mat together and they will choke out almost all competition. The several vines originate from an edible turnip like structure that grows quite large over several years, I have observed roots 4 to 5 inches through. They will produce considerable seed. If you do not get real ambitious with the hoe, each year you will find seedling plant growing in the area. Leave them alone for 3 or 4 years and you can move them when they are an inch across and not lose a one. It reliably produces a beautiful crop of rose flowers for several weeks in July and August. The color is unlike practically anything else in the garden. Sioux Indians inhaled the smoke of dried for head colds. Cowboy Rose is a way cool plant and deserves being planted much more than it is at present.

Wine cups makes a great groundcover that will surround without smothering other plants. In a sunny southwestern exposure that never gets watered, it produces deep rose-pink flowers that get along very nicely with achillea, columbines, ice plant, daylilies, strawberries, and even some prickly pears. It is certainly not invasive in MA.