Hibiscus
In order to obtain the best results from your hibiscus, the selection of planting site is important.
Ensure you choose an open sunny position preferably sheltered from the prevailing winds.
Full sun is suggested, although hibiscus will tolerate part shade, excessive shade will reduce flower production.
Hibiscus have a vigorous but non-invasive root system. Hibiscus look spectacular as a feature or in a special bed on their own, with a minimum of two to three feet spacing, they also give a touch of class around pool gardens snuggled between palms and rain forest plants.
Some hibiscus are suitable for cultivation in patio tubs and are known to thrive for many years in containers.
3371 Mahogany Splendor ( Hibiscus acetosa )
Mahogany Splendor features deep burgundy, maple-shaped leaves with serrated edges,an attractive look similar to a Japanese Maple. Ideally suited to the landscape, this drought and heat resistant variety also combines well in containers with other vigorous sun loving plants. Deep burgundy foliage, powerful landscape plant, scarified seed, 27" spread. 36" tall, grow as an annual, matures in 12 weeks from seed.
LET388 Hibiscus Trionum
If you enjoy large, dramatic flowers in the landscape, you will want to start Hibiscus seeds! This Hibiscus plant grows as an annual, but in frost free zones or if wintered indoors, will grow as a perennial. It provides exotic, large 3-4 inch silvery blooms with chocolate-purple centers. These large, showing blooms are short-lived but constantly are being replaced with fresh, new blooms. Heat tolerant and a lover of full sun, this well-branched, bushy plant is a stand out in the summer garden!
The pollinated but unripe seedpods look like oriental paper lanterns, less than 1 inch across, pale green with purple highlights.
Has a compact form growing only about 14-20 inches tall.
LET153 Luna White
Luna White is a gorgeous addition to the hibiscus collection. The flowers are 8 inches across! It has a beautiful white flower whose petals are attached creating an appearance of a continuous petal with a ruby eye in the center and showy yellow stamens. This type of hibiscus is also sometimes known as Dinner Plate Hibiscus for its flat shaped flowers. These flowers will continue to bloom all summer into the fall until frost giving your garden an amazing display. The plant itself is bushy and compact, therefore making it great for small space gardens. Even better this plant is very low maintenance and heat tolerant. For colder climates make sure to mulch heavily in the winter to ensure re-emergence the next year. A wonderful butterfly attractant! Use as a single specimen or in a container for a patio garden. Zones 4-9.
W241 Disco Belle Pink
Pastel Pink. Flowers are pink on the edges fading to white with a deep pinkish-red central eye. Smashing 9" wide disc-shaped flower, stout specimen plants. Zones 4-9.
FA106 Disco Belle Rosy Red
This color rarely produces but this is its lucky year, dazzling
rosy red flowers to 9" wide, order early, sells out each year,
prescarified seed for reliable germination. Grows about 25"
tall, hardy to zone 4.
SF102 Luna Rose
Luna Rose is a gorgeous addition to the hibiscus collection. The flowers are 8 inches across! It has a breathtaking deep pink colored flower whose petals are attached creating an appearance of a continuous petal with a ruby eye in the center and showy yellow stamens. This type of hibiscus is also sometimes known as Dinner Plate Hibiscus for its flat shaped flowers. These flowers will continue to bloom all summer into the fall until frost giving your garden an amazing display. The plant itself is bushy and compact, therefore making it great for small space gardens. Even better this plant is very low maintenance and heat tolerant. For colder climates make sure to mulch heavily in the winter to ensure re-emergence the next year. A wonderful butterfly attractant! Use as a single specimen or in a container for a patio garden. Zones 4-9.
IP221 Luna Red
Dinner plate sized flowers measuring 7-8 inches across are bright burgundy-red. The compact, bushy plants are relatively short in stature, making them perfect for growing in containers. This cultivar has been reported as being heat and drought tolerant. The plant itself is bushy and compact, therefore making it great for small space gardens.
Even better this plant is very low maintenance and heat tolerant. For colder climates make sure to mulch heavily in the winter to ensure re-emergence the next year. A wonderful butterfly attractant! Use as a single specimen or in a container for a patio garden.Zones 4-9.
JB225 Thai Red Roselle ( Hibiscus sabdariffa )
Beautiful 3-5 ft. plants with red stems and leaf veins. The bright red calyxes can be used to make "zingy" tea, sauce, syrup, or jam, or candied whole for an unusual treat. For strongly flavored teas, simmer for 10-20 minutes. Citrus-flavored flowers are delicious on frozen desserts.
Roselle was called "Florida cranberry" in the 1890s.
In the Caribbean, sorrel drink is made from sepals of the roselle. It is prepared by boiling dried sepals and calyces of the sorrel/flower of the plant in water for 8 to 10 minutes (or until the water turns red), then adding sugar. It is often served chilled. This is done in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia, Dominica, Grenada,and Jamaica where it is called 'sorrel'.
In the UK, the dried calyces and ready-made sorrel syrup are widely and cheaply available in Caribbean and Asian grocers. The fresh calyces are imported mainly during December and January to make Christmas and New Year infusions, which are often made into cocktails with rum.
Rosella flowers are sold as Wild Hibiscus flowers in syrup in Australia as a gourmet product. Recipes include filling them with goats cheese; serving them on baguette slices baked with brie; and placing one plus a little syrup in a champagne flute before adding the champagne, the bubbles cause the flower to open.
In Nigeria, rosella jam has been made since colonial times and is still sold regularly at community fetes and charity stalls. It is similar in flavour to plum jam, although more acidic. It differs from other jams in that the pectin is obtained from boiling the interior buds of the rosella flowers. It is thus possible to make rosella jam with nothing but rosella buds and sugar.
In Burma, the buds of the roselle are made into 'preserved fruits' or jams. Depending on the method and the preference, the seeds are removed or included. The jams, made from roselle buds and sugar, are red and tangy.
In India, Roselle is commonly made into a type of pickle. "Sorrel jelly" is manufactured in Trinidad.
The flowers and young leaves are edible and have a citrus tang. Space plants 3-6 ft. apart, the wider the spacing, the more calyxes will ripen.
Frost-tender perennial. Germination: 75-85°F, 7-14 days. Transplant after last frost. Full sun. 36-60 in. tall.
LET756 Rose Mallow ( Hibiscus moscheutos )
Showy, dinner plate-sized, hollyhock-like flowers (each to 4-6” diameter) have five overlapping white, creamy white or pink petals with reddish-purple to dark crimson bases which form a sharply contrasting central eye. Can grow from 3 to 7 feet tall. Also does well as a tub plant for patios.
Like tropical hibiscus, rose mallow boasts huge, vibrantly colored flowers, some growing to the size of dinner plates. But once your hardy hibiscus bursts into bloom, it will continue flowering until the first frost and then return again in spring for a repeat performance. Despite its tolerance for cold weather, rose mallow also loves the heat and grows equally well in balmy southern climates.
For zones 5-9.
LET755 Sea Hibiscus ( Hibiscus tiliaceus )
Commonly called sea hibiscus or mahoe, is an evergreen shrub or small tree that is native to tropical regions of Asia where it is often found growing along coasts and in low moist areas. It is now grown as an ornamental in tropical and subtropical areas around the world.
It has escaped gardens and naturalized along the coast in southern Florida where it is now considered to have invasive potential. It typically grows to 12-25' tall. Intertwined trunks and branches often sprawl over the ground to form large impenetrable colonies. Showy funnel-shaped flowers bloom throughout the year. Each flower has five overlapping petals and a pronounced central staminal column consisting of the stamens and pistil.
Flowers last only one day, opening in the morning as lemon yellow with dark maroon throats, but turning dull red by evening when they drop to the ground. Simple, heart-shaped leaves (to 8"long and 6" wide) with pointed tips are bright green above and hairy gray-green beneath. Fruits are brown ovoid dry capsules. Roots and flowers have medicinal value. In Asia, mahoe is harvested for the fiber in its trunk which is made into rope.
Tolerates a wide variety of soil types, ranging from well-drained to poorly-drained and from acidic to alkaline. Tolerates salty ocean winds. Can grow in waterlogged soils and will tolerate shallow flooding for extended periods.