QuestionsHow to growTrees and ShrubsPlantingName of plant 0 Vote Up Vote Down Elizabeth Mulvihill asked 14 years ago Can you tell me what this plant is and is it a perennial? 1 Answers 0 Vote Up Vote Down Gerry Daly Staff answered 7 years ago This would appear to be tree mallow, or Lavatera arborea, although the plant leaves are usually more downy than appears in this photograph. It has a woody base, not quite a shrub, and it is relatively short-lived, a few years.