prairie wildflower

Scarlet Globemallow

Sphaeralcea coccinea

Also known as Caliche Globemallow

Native to the Southwest, the Rockies, and the Great Plains and southern Canada

Saskatchewan and Alberta, south to Texas, Arizona, and Chihuahua in northern Mexico; rare in Iowa Loess Hills

In the garden

A prairie wildflower for full sun and lean, dry soil. At up to 16 in, it tucks into meadows and sunny borders. Hardy in USDA zones 3–9.

Light

Full sun Partial shade Full shade

Moisture

Dry Moist Wet

Find your zone:

Bees Brown-belted Bumble Bee

also Ligated Furrow Bee, Red-belted Bumble Bee, Hunt's Bumble Bee +7 more
Tripartite Sweat Bee, Brown-winged Striped Sweat Bee, Calliopsis subalpina, Globemallow Andrena, Tiny Small carpenter, Lasioglossum sp.F28, Panurginus beardsleyi
Butterflies Gray Hairstreak

also Common Checkered-Skipper and Allies, Checkered White, Reakirt's Blue +3 more
Common Sootywing, Melissa Blue, Pyrgus communis
Flower flies Margined Calligrapher also Large-tailed Aphideater, Yellow-shouldered Drone Fly, Broad-headed Marsh Fly
Also visited by
- Beetles: Coleothorpa axillaris

Documented host and nectar records. Each links to a planting guide for that butterfly.

Habitat: PrairieThe wild plant community it grows in.
Native range: The Southwest, the Rockies, and the Great Plains and southern CanadaUnited States (15): AZ, CO, IA, ID, KS, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OK, SD, TX, UT, WY. Canada (1): SK. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
Native distribution: Saskatchewan and Alberta, south to Texas, Arizona, and Chihuahua in northern Mexico; rare in Iowa Loess HillsThe same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.

Light: Full sunHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
Moisture: DryThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
Hardiness zones: USDA 3–9 · Canadian 2–7The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
Soil: Light, gravelly limestone or sandy clay soilsThe soils it grows in naturally.
Soil pH: 6.5–8.4The acidity to alkalinity it tolerates (7 is neutral).
Soil quality: LowHow rich a soil it needs. Many natives prefer lean soil and flop in rich beds.
Water use: LowHow thirsty it is, a rough guide to how often to water.
Salinity tolerance: MediumHow well it copes with salty soil, near roads or the coast.
Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance: HighHow well it copes with chalky, lime-rich soil.

Height: up to 16 in (to 41 cm)Typical mature height.
Life cycle: Biennial or perennialWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).
Growth rate: RapidA relative ranking versus other plants of the same type (USDA), not an absolute rate.
Shape: ErectIts overall silhouette.
Root depth: 6+ in (15+ cm)How far the roots reach, a guide to drought resilience and transplanting.

Cold stratification: Not requiredWhether seed needs a cold, moist spell before it will germinate.
Propagation: Container, seedHow to start new plants.
Seed: ~0.5 million seeds per poundNotes on the seed and how to sow it.
Seed spread rate: RapidHow readily it self-sows. Slow or none means well-behaved, not a spreader.
Seedling vigor: HighHow strongly young seedlings establish.
Vegetative spread: NoneWhether it creeps outward or stays put in a clump.