Hibiscus moscheutos (hi-BIS-kus: mos-KO-tos) - 'Rose Mallow'
Here is a showy perennial with flowers that grow up 10 inches in diameter. Plants need sun but will do well in light shade, the soil should be rich and have abundant organic matter. For best results give abundant moisture, growing well even in damp or boggy soil, doing well along the edge of a pond or stream. Stems are very sturdy and will hold up in a windy site. They grow as large as a multi-stemmed shrub and should be given a lot of space. Most effective used as an accent or specimen plant, or in place of a shrub; but keep in mind that they are very late to come out of the ground in the spring - in the north they might wait till the end of June to come out of the ground. This selection can be used as a dense hedge when massed, but dies down to the ground in winter. They will benefit from a winter mulch of pine boughs or salt marsh hay, especially in areas that cycle through many warm and cold spells over the winter. Flowers wilt within 1 hour of being cut-so they do not make good cut flowers. Control Japanese Beetles and white flies, which can damage the large flowers.
Hibiscus plants are late to break dormancy in the spring. So take care when planting or working in the garden around them early in the season. Cut back the woody old stems to the ground in late winter. This selection produces large flowers in different shades of red, rose, pink and white. Plants grow 60 inches tall and bloom mid to late summer. Can be grown as an annual, with good flowering the first year from an early sowing.
Zones (4)5-10.
11 seeds.
|
