IPM Checklist
Common Mallow / Cheeseweed Identification and Control
The short answer
Common mallow (Malva neglecta), widely called cheeseweed, is a low, sprawling annual or biennial with roughly round to kidney-shaped, palm-veined leaves that have scalloped, round-toothed edges, often with a red spot at the leaf base. It produces small five-petaled flowers, white to pale pink usually with violet veins, and its seed pods are flattened buttons that look like miniature wheels of cheese, which is where the name comes from.
It anchors on a strong taproot that becomes woody as the plant matures, and that is the key to control: once the taproot is woody the plant is very hard to pull or cut. So the best approach is mechanical removal while young, hoeing or pulling plants that have four or fewer true leaves.
Two quirks shape the rest of the strategy: mowing does not work because mallow has viable buds on the stems below the mower blade, and a thick organic mulch (at least 3 inches) suppresses it by blocking the light its seeds need to germinate. Notably, Extension states mallow is one of the few weeds glyphosate does not control.
How to identify it
Start with the round leaves. Common mallow has alternate, roughly circular to kidney-shaped leaves that are palmately veined and hairy, on long slender stalks, with scalloped round-toothed margins and often a small red spot where the leaf meets the stalk; the seedling's cotyledons are distinctly heart-shaped. The plant is low and sprawling (prostrate to somewhat upright), with stems that can run a couple of feet.
The seed pods clinch it. After the small white-to-pale-pink, violet-veined flowers fade, the fruit forms a flattened disk of wedge-shaped sections resembling a miniature wheel of cheese, each section holding one kidney-shaped reddish-brown seed. That cheese-wheel pod is the origin of the name cheeseweed.
Why timing (and the taproot) is everything
Mallow's defense is its root. It develops a strong taproot that becomes woody with age, and once woody the plant is very difficult to cut or pull out, so a mature mallow resists hand-weeding in a way a young one does not. Extension is specific: control in home gardens and landscapes is best accomplished by pulling out young plants with four or fewer true leaves.
Mowing is not a substitute, because mallow carries viable buds on its stems below the height of the mower blade, so it simply regrows after cutting. The seed bank compounds the problem: a tough seed coat means low germination in any given year but long seed viability, so plants keep appearing over time and preventing seed set matters.
Control
Lead with young-plant removal and mulch. Hoe or pull mallow while it has four or fewer true leaves and the taproot is still soft, and cover bare soil in beds with at least 3 inches of organic mulch such as bark or wood chips, which physically blocks seedling emergence and screens out the light mallow seeds need to sprout. Competitive, shading plantings also reduce germination.
Do not reach for glyphosate expecting it to work: Extension notes mallow is one of the few weeds glyphosate is ineffective in controlling. It lists limited chemical options instead, oryzalin or pendimethalin for partial pre-germination control, and 2,4-D for limited control on young plants in turf only; follow the product label and county Extension guidance, as no rates are given here.
Sources
Reviewed 2026-07-18. We cite university Extension, government, and established horticultural sources — and never invent pesticide rates or dangerous treatments.
- UC IPM - Mallows Management (Home and Landscape) — Mallow control in home gardens and landscapes is best accomplished by hoeing or pulling out young plants with four or fewer true leaves because the taproot becomes woody and very difficult to remove as it matures; mowing is ineffective because plants have viable buds below the mower blade; at least 3 inches of organic mulch such as bark or wood chips blocks seedling emergence and screens out the light mallow needs to sprout; the seeds have a tough coat giving low yearly germination but long viability, and mallow is one of the few weeds glyphosate is ineffective in controlling, while oryzalin or pendimethalin give partial pre-germination control and 2,4-D gives limited control on young plants in turf only.
- UC IPM - Little Mallow / Cheeseweed (Weed Gallery) — Little mallow/cheeseweed (Malva) is a winter annual, occasionally biennial or short-lived perennial, with distinctly heart-shaped hairless cotyledons 3-12 mm long on long stalks; leaves are hairy, palm-shaped with five to seven shallow rounded lobes and round-toothed edges, often with a red spot at the leaf base; it develops a strong taproot making it difficult to remove even young, and produces white to pale-pink flowers about 1 cm across; the fruit resembles a miniature wheel of cheese with wedge-shaped sections, each holding a reddish-brown kidney-shaped seed roughly 2 mm long.
- Iowa State University Extension - Common Mallow — Common mallow (Malva neglecta) is an annual or biennial with a prostrate to decumbent growth habit and stems up to 2 ft long; leaves are round to kidney-shaped with crenate (rounded-tooth) margins on long petioles; it is called cheeseweed because the circular fruit, a flattened disk of 10-20 carpels, resembles a wheel of cheese; short stiff hairs on leaves and stems give a rough texture.