PlantFiles: Hardy Hibiscus, Rose Mallow, Swamp Mallow
Hibiscus moscheutos

As a new gardener, I didn't know what to expect from this plant when I first laid eyes on a small pot at a local garden center. There it was, dejected and clearanced to its lowest price. We had recently purchased our home and there wasn't a lot of cash for plants so the end of the season sale was right up my alley, so to speak. I paid the pittance for her and popped her in the garden, in full sun along with some others found that day. She looked sad to say the least. This was during the month of May. I visited DG and cut the plant down to the roots, in an effort to start her over again. Well, in the late summer/early fall, she blossomed.She was suddenly gorgeous! I would anxiously anticipate each morning's arrival to see if a bloom spotted the previous day had opened, some were slower than others but they all opened with a few days of my noticing their buds. I LOVE THIS PLANT!!! It's a performer if ever there was a performer. I could almosst here her call out, thanks for working with me, have I got something to show you! My husband even enjoys this plant.
As mentioned, I am a new gardener, thinking I had something to do with her positive development encouraged me to purchase seeds to try this year.
I am very grateful for all that I have learned here on DG. THANKS TO EVERY ONE WHO CONTRIBUTES HERE! Thanks a million. MistyPetals :)

I live in Minnesota, this year it was so warm it came up early (in May) and stayed warm so it still had flowers in early Nov. I get as many as 15 or more at full bloom in good years. I have never had a pest problem. I have difficulty with my hands and have found that if I wait till after the first frost its much easier to cut them back, as the stems soften after the frost. I do cover them with the last grass/mulched leaves pick up of the season. During dry periods I have to water them every 3 days with a good soak, otherwise they are work free. Everyone loves the flowers. I bought one for my daughter as they had a few left at the end of season at a steal of a price. The hardy ones do excellent in this cold zone.

This plant has done well here in Richmond Hill, GA. Planted from seed two years ago, it has come back each year bigger and better. Produces many, many blossoms for your enjoyment.

We bought our Lord Baltimore Rose Mallow earlier this year, it bloomed and bloomed and was doing very well, all of a sudden it started to die, leaves turned black, stems turned brown, we went to our nursery and they told us to use an inseticide to get rid of spider mites, we used that but the plant got worse, then we trimmed the dead stuff back to the green and went back to the computer and did some research I thought it was crown rot, the nursery guy said rootrot, we treated it for root rot and now it is all brown we are going to try using some fertilizer and hope that if the roots are still alive we can bring it back buy doing a drastic cut back of the plant, if that doesn't work then we will have to get another one cause we love it so. If anyone knows what else might have taken our beautiful plant from us please let us know.

I put in a few of these plants a couple years ago and they're doing just fine. Depsite it being a dry summer, they're huge this year and full of bloom. Some are in a sandy soil on a hill and some are in clay. Apparently they aren't so common around here because everyone stops to have a look and ask what they are. In winter I just make a mound over them with the stalks and cuttings from the garden. The main thing is to avoid a freeze-thaw cycle. Once the ground is frozen - you want it to stay that way until Spring. Never had a bug problem despite an infestation of Japanese beetles on the lillies last summer. I live north of Kingston, Ontario so I'm sure they're hardier than given credit.

I've recently added the Flare variety to my garden. Flare has been rated a "Texas Superstar" performer by the horticulture department at Texas A&M. So far, I'm inclined to agree. In three weeks, I've gone from no budding to over 150 buds on three plants, and expect many blooms in the next few days. (This is without any fertilizing, in less than stellar soil.) They do wilt quickly if you let them get dry, but with regular watering I should have quite a show until our first frost, likely November.

Hardy hibiscus wintersows very well. Mine bloomed the first year.

This plant was given to me last year and I planted it after we moved here in July 05. I thought it had died, so when it started growing like a weed and setting buds, I was amazed! It bloomed like gangbusters and blessed me with tons of seed pods. It was totally neglected and forgotten, (as in not watered or fertilized).Beautiful 7" or better blooms, and although they only last a day or so, I have had as many as 5 open at a time. I have already started some from seed to spread these all over my little yard.

one of the first plants i brought home when the 'gardening bug' bit me - i fell for the magenta, satellite-dish sized blooms. put it at the back corner of a triangular sw-facing garden and it bloomed, spectacularly & non-stop, til frost (despite a gnarly infestation of what i now know is the dreaded whitefly). when it died to the ground in winter, i thought it was my fault for not dealing aggressively wth the pests. it came back bigger than before! i thinned out the suckers once in late april, and now have a 4'x5' very blowsy bush w/up to 6 buds on each stem end. show should start by 1st week of july. note to beginners: i don't water this as heavily as some here have recommended, and it seems to be dandy anyway.

It seems that one key to this plant is to be sure to leave an adequate amount of stem above ground when planting. I have about nine of these in my yard that I am growing as a hedge. The difference is dramatic - the ones with at least two to three inches of stem exposed have grown much better.

One of the showiest of all later blooming perennials adding a huge dash of color in July and August here in Western New York State. I've over 100 plants now, hybrids of moscheutos, many the 'Southern Belle' variety in several colors, started from seed in 1984. I usually add a few new ones to the garden each year. Lord and Lady Baltimore, turn of the Century and Blue River II (a huge white) are doing fine in their 3rd and 4th years. Fireball, Kopper King, Plum Crazy, Fantasia and Old Yeller (a very, very pale yellow) in their 1st and 2nd years. I've added 'Sweet Caroline', 'Luna Red' and 'Luna Blush' so far this year, 2006. I will also be trying my hand at seed propagation this year from the several hundred seeds collected from named varieties last fall.

I love the big, beautiful blooms of Hardy Hibiscus. It does take an awefully long time to break dormancy though. Soaking aids germination of seeds.

Hi, I'm a newby to this site. I came for information and got lots but I also think I can give some. As to the question of over wintering, I wouldn't bring it in the house. If you're in zone 5 or greater just leave it in the ground and ignore it. If you're zone 4 or less I still might try the same thing, but if I decided to dig and store it, I'd wait until it had died to the ground, then I'd put it somewhere it wouldn't get colder than 15 deg. or warmer than 40. A garage? No water now. It's dormant. Also I've had good luck growing this one from seed started in Feb. under lights.

Please help. Throughout the summer, my Rose Mallow was doing great on my terrace: dark green leaves and brilliant red blooms. In mid October, I brought my Rose Mallow inside before the 1st frost. However, the leaves began yellowing a bit and falling off. The soil is moist, but I think the sunlight is not enough. Please help.

I LOVE THESE BLOOMS! They are the size of dinner plates. The only drawback is the amount of water they require here in Lubbock. They tend to wilt heavily in the afternoon heat, but with watering they bounce back. We have gotten to the point that we can water every other day now. The first year we watered daily. They are now 4 years old. We cut them back to the ground in early December, and they come back stronger every year. We have three colors of Hibiscus. We are trying to get our plants and yard as xeriscaped as possible, but I don't want to give these beauties up!! They will just have to have their own corner of the yard. The desert willows, agaves and yuccas can be the watersavers.

I am in canada in a zone 3 area will take in when winter arrives how much water do they need in house for winter, or can we just put in basement and ignore till spring

the Rose Mallow, Lord Baltimore, is easy even for someone without a green thumb. Mine doubled in size in just one season. I would like it to be more bushy; mine is not in full sun, perhaps that is why it is tall but not bushy.

The earth is claylike in this area of Kansas and we have standing water problems, yet it seems to do well. One question: when dead-heading, do I just pull off the spent bloom or the cup and the bloom? One nursery told me to not pull off the cup that holds the spent bloom. Another said, not true.

Anyone have additional experience for my novice question?

I too LOVE this plant.... and have had great success with it next to my fence. There is some sort of worm that likes to prey but if I watch close I can usually catch them before they do much damage. The plate size blooms are worth the effort and the wait as they seem to be the last plants to poke thru in my garden in the spring.

MY FAVORITE PLANT. HAVE ABOUT 30 HIBISCUS PLANTS IN MY OHIO GARDEN. I RECOMMEND GOOD FERTILE SOIL FOR BEST COLORS AND GROWTH. I FEED WITH MIRACLE GROW EVERY 2 WEEKS IN SPRING THROUGH SUMMER AND SOME VARIETIES REACH 7 TO 8 FEET. I STAKE AND TIE ALL MY ROSE MALLOWS TO PREVENT STEM BREAKAGE FROM STRONG WINDS. BLOOMS 1ST WEEK OF JULY THROUGH SEPTEMBER. ROSE MALLOWS CAN BE PINCHED BACK WHEN THEY ARE 1 TO 2 FEET TALL TO MAKE MORE FULL WITH MORE BLOOMS. MULCH IN FALL WILL PRODUCE MORE STEMS THE FOLLOWING YEAR. NEW VARIETIES COME IN YELLOW AND PURPLE AND BI-COLORS IN ADDITION TO THE STANDARD RED,PINK AND WHITE.

It is interesting to note that propagation of these plants is
simple and easy. Take a young cutting and place in water until
roots are noted. Then plant in soil or potting mixture and keep
damp. When well established
transfer to permanent bed or
border. My experience with this method has been very successful.

I don't believe all these flowers can be of the same variety. There are too many sizes, shapes and colors.
I'll add mine to the mix.

This plant is currently (early July) giving me an excellent show here in Zone 7 South Carolina, outside Charlotte. I planted it from a twiglet last fall and forgot about it until it went berserk about a week ago. It's planted in a permanently boggy area and it seems to love it there.

I haven't grown this plant myself, but have seen it at the Lady Bird Johnson National Wildflower Research Center growing in a bog area and hanging over the pond at the front entrance of the center. It can DEFINITELY live in boggy, wet areas, hence the name "Swamp Rose".

I have several of these hardy hibiscus plants. Some are in normal clay garden soil with normal moisture. Others are in an area that floods for much of the winter, in fact they have often been underwater or frozen under ice. They do much better in the flooded area. I am in Zone 5...they have no wind protection. They are 6-7 ft. in the wet area as opposed to only 3 ft. or so in the normal garden. And, even better, the plants in the wet area have seeded themselves and I have a row of them about 20 ft. long coming up in this low drainage ditch type of area. It is great! Effortless! And the flowers are wonderful. Now, I am trying to figure out how to propagate the red hibiscus as I have not had much luck with growing it from seed. I am concerned that I will kill it if I try to divide it because it is so woody, and I only have one that blooms red.

A co-worker gave me two trunks last year and I was in love!! This appears to grow well in Detroit, MI. I put some manuer around it, like I do my roses and I think it did well. I'm awaiting some sign of life now, I don't see anything yet and I tend to be impatient. Luckily, I got to read the comments on this site about this plant coming out of dormancy so late, else I'd think I killed it. I also think this produces multiple trunks, looks like I have four trunks now. Won't know anything else until late spring, I think we are a month behind in seasons here due to weather conditions.

This plant is beautiful, but since I live in Zone 3 I don't know how to over winter it. I grew it in a pot, brought the pot inside, but don't know how much to water it.

One of my favorite plants of all-time. Big, billowy, blousy flowers, native to the east-coast. Blooms in a variety of colors ranging from white to pink to red in a varieties of patterns, combinations. Can be grown in full sun to part shade. Likes an acid soil but is tolerant of different Phs. Won't tolerate very dry soil. Water copiously in drought. Can be grown in wet/boggy soil and clay.

These plants (several varieties) grow very well for me. I have 'Kopper King' as well as the pink, white and red varieties. They will not need staking, even when mature, if you have planted them in a constantly moist (but of course, well-drained) soil. Actually, where I have my original (pink) plant, it floods every spring, with standing water for anywhere from 4 to 14 days! They are very late breaking dormancy, but worth the wait! My oldest bears flowers (depending on the year) from mid-July (this year it is still in bud - everything is about 4 weeks late!) through late September. If you dead-head, you can still be getting blooms in October!

Japanese beetles love this plant, but it soon outgrows the damage. The large, bright flowers are very visible from a distance, making this a good front-yard flower. Mine does require sturdy support. Cut back to the ground after it goes dormant in fall.

Herbaceous, quick-growing perennial for zones 5-9. It needs good, well-drained soil. Prefers full sun, but summer winds can damage flowers, so needs some protection in windy areas.

This plant is always late emerging in spring, allowing me to fill in the space with spring ephemerals that go dormant as this one break through the soil. Produces fantastically huge bright red flowers in abundance in late summer. Only negative is that the stems cannot support the weight of all the buds and must be supported.

My very favorite plant. Started flowering on July 21, 2001, didn't stop until October 19 frost. As many as 3 flowers at any time were open. Counted at least 60 flowers in various stages of development. Very nice and easy.

Needs regular deep watering and protection from windburn. Good background plant in beds...can be used as hedge. Mark well where planted as this plant breaks dormancy very late. Blossoms are approximately 9 inches across.

Interesting maple like leaves on sturdy stems. Pink blossoms are 9" in diameter. Breaks dormancy very late in the spring so mark them well when cleaning out your flower beds or you could pull this up by mistake. Dies back to the ground in the winter. Blooms Aug to Oct. in zone 5.
Best used in back of the border...as single specimen....or as a hedge. May prune as desired to keep best height.
Needs regular deep watering and protection from windburn.