Success with Perennial Hibiscus
Background
This is a rather large family of plants – about 220 species all told of annual and perennial herbs, shrubs, subshrubs and trees.
While you won’t grow too many Hibiscus trees in zone 4, you will likely grow all the other forms. Hibiscus are a member of the malvaceae or Mallow family which lends them a common flower habit with some of our less popular roadside weeds (white mallow) and our more popular garden plants (Lavatera).
Growing Summary:
Sunshine: Sun to part shade
Soils: just about anything other than drought and heavy clay
Propagation: Seeds or Tip Cuttings
Height: From 24" to 60"
Flowering Time: late summer through fall
Hardiness: USDA 4 for common perennials
Common Garden Center Plant: Hibiscus moscheutos
Hibiscus moscheutos is the plant that garden centers sell as perennial hibiscus. Native to the Carolina forests, most perennial Hibiscus are rated a USDA zone 4 for winter hardiness and down to a warm zone 9 for summer heat tolerance.
They are typically July-August bloomers although a few bloom later than this. If grown in good rich soil, this plant will quickly turn into a four to six foot tall bush every spring (dying to the ground over winter). The flowers will also be amazingly large at six inches across.
I have grown this plant in sand and clay and have abused it terribly, it survives almost every kind of soil although it doesn’t bloom well when drought strikes.
The only problem I ever had was winter-hardiness on some of the dwarf varieties but that might have been my gardening rather than the plant. Given that I like the taller varieties better anyway, it was no loss.
They are usually pruned to the ground in the fall and regrow (starting as one of the last perennials to emerge) each spring.
The most commonly available form of perennial Hibiscus is ‘Southern Belle’ because it is carried by most seed catalogues.
This wonderful plant, if grown in a moist, rich soil in full sun or part shade can easily hit 4 to 6 feet tall in a season and be covered by a delightful display of huge six inch blooms in late summer.
New Varieties
The breeders have done their magic giving us plants such as ‘Cotton Candy’ pink and white, ‘Satan’ blood red, ‘Radiation’ deep pink, and ‘Crimson Wonder’ with you guessed it – crimson flowers.
’Kopper King’has coppery-red foliage with massive white flowers containing a red eye; this is an excellent show-stopping fall bloomer. I’ve also grown ’Lord Baltimore’ which is a rather large bushy perennial Hibiscus plant with massive bright red flowers and this has received more than its share of garden envy while in bloom.
’Fantasia’ is a compact form, only growing to three feet tall but it does have massive rose-pink flowers.
Transplanting Caution
If you purchase perennial Hibiscus moscheutos, be extremely careful with transplanting. It resents having its roots moved and can turn from a healthy hulk into a basket case with careless moving or even weeding that disturbs its roots.
Propagating Perennial Hibiscus
These plants can be divided, taken from cuttings or from seed.
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What Other Visitors Have Asked
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Cutting Back Perennial Hibiscus
I know nothing about perennial hibscus and I cut it down to about 3 or 4 inches from the ground. will it grow back?
Doug says absolutely it will grow ...
cuttings and rooting perennial hibiscus My outdoor cat, broke off some branches of a hibiscus that was given as a present. I started the cuttings in my bathroom with a 15 watt plant light, that ...
pruning perennial hibiscus
Hello,
I would like to know if I can cut back my perennial hibiscus in the fall. The stems are very thick and they seem to be woody, I was wondering ...
perennial hibiscus summer pruning? My perennial hibiscus is beautiful with lots of 10 inch blooms. However, it is in the front of our house and grows 7-8 feet tall with a "weed-like" look ...
help for a sick garden hibscus My hardy Hibscus has very pale yellow leaves even slightly curled leaves and no flower buds. I am in zone5 on July 23rd. Can you make any suggestion ...
Hibiscus transplanting time
Can I transplant now in the spring before it has started to grow? Or is fall the best time?
Doug says that first thing in the spring always worked really ...
Pruning Perennial Hibiscus Can I still trim (cutting down the old stalks) it in the spring or wait now for fall? Do you even recommend trimming? It's about 5' tall & about 3' wide ...
Winter preparation for Dwarf Hardy Hibiscus
I live in Ottawa (zone 5, temperature may drop to 30 below cero)Canada, does this plant need any type of winter preparation? should I cut it down?
thanks ...
Hibiscus grown from old flower seeds
Is it possible to grow new hibiscus plants from the seeds on the dead bloom?
Thank you
Doug says I hope so - been doing it for years. If it isn'...
LEMON SLICE HIBISCUS
PURCHASED LEMON SLICE HIBISCUS SEEDS (abelmaschus manihot) ON LINE. WHEN & HOW IS THE BEST WAY TO START THE SEEDS? I LIVE IN ILLINOIS (ZONE 5)
Doug ...
Perennial Hibscus Care Hi I have planted perennial hibscus rose mallow varieties in my backyard here in Indiana, Zone 5. I planted them in 2005 and each year there after they ...
Perennial Hibiscus I live in Georgia and planted by Hibiscus last year. After a while, the leaves on the stems looked like they were short of water .... I watered and watered,...
hibiscus in the South My hibicus has long and spindely limbs and the limbs have very few leaves. They are tall and somewhat bare. What can I do to correct this? I Miracle ...
Have I KILLED my hardy hibiscus? I beleive I have a "perennial hardy hibiscus". My son bought it from XXXX where he works and gave it to me for Mothers Day. I live in Lyndhurst, NJ (just ...
Pink Hibiscus
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