Hibiscus

hibiscusrgss — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:30:50 +0000

Garden centres employ horticulturists who can diagnose problems and make recommendations to gardeners. This is almost always provided as a free service in the store.

1. General Information

You can grow hibiscus successfully, if you live in an area where frosts are rare and the summers are not foggy and cool/cold. The evergreen hibiscus will bring a bit of tropical paradise into your garden. Flowering starts in spring and lasts until the winter reduces flower bud formation.

There are many old favorites such as `Agnes Galt,’ `Brilliant,’ `Kona Improved,’ and `White Wings‘. They are all exceptionally vigorous but will eventually reach a towering height of 10-15 feet_which makes them less adaptable to a landscape than lower growing varieties. The compact varieties range from 4 to 8 feet. They are slower growing than their towering cousins, but beautiful and hardy.

Hibiscus flowers are of two kinds: the classic single type with five petals or the fluffy doubles with many petals. The choices of colors include white, yellow, yellow gold, orange, pink, salmon and coral.

2. Location Choose a sunny spot away from drying winds and prepare a growing area (dig a hole twice as wide and twice as deep as root ball) with fast draining soil using plenty of organic matter. Do not to disturb the root ball when transplanting.

3. Watering Hibiscus do best when they are watered deeply (thoroughly soaked) once a week during the warm/hot weather. Inland hotter areas may need a deep soaking twice a week during the summer months. Do not overwater in cool weather months!! Infrequent deep soakingrather than frequent shallow waterings is what will give you the best growing plant.

4. Fertilizing Hibiscus will be most vigorous if given fertilizer once a month from April through September. Stop feeding in September so that plants will harden off before the cold weather arrives.

5. Pruning To keep plants in shape, prune in spring just after new growth starts (generally this is March). Young plants seldom need pruning, but pinching back tips of new growth will increase bushiness and the number of flowering branches.Remember_flowers develop on new growth!!

On older plants you can prune heavily each year to control size and to encourage blossoming. Be sure to select a variety, however, that won’t outgrow it’s allotted space and need severe pruning each year. Neglected plants may need a severe pruning one time and then each year a moderate pruning in March.

6. To rejuvenate a big, woody, old shrub When you have a woody plant that produces few flowers, prune heavily in several stages. What you will actually be doing is cutting back the entire plant at least halfway-but it will be done gradually. Start by cutting back 2 old stems each month-start in March and continue through August. This is when the growth on the plant will be the most active and your plant will quickly produce foliage and flowers.

7. What size Hibiscus do you want?

4 to 5 feet `Bride’

Single, 8″ blossoms have overlapped, crepe-like petals that are white with delicate pink blush. Somewhat open plants reach 4 ft.

`Crown of Bohemia’Produces an abundance of fluffy double golden blooms 6″ across with red-orange centers. Slow-growing, leafy plant reaches 5 ft.

`Diamond Head’ Rich red blooms are fully double, 6″ across. Compact plant to 5 ft.

`Ecstasy‘ Striking red flowers have white centers; sporadic bloom. Open plant reaches 4 ft.

`Golden Dust‘ Silky flowers with intense orange petals shading to yellow-orange at center. Attractive, dense plant to 4 ft.
`White Wings’ Windmill flowers are white, with bright red centers. Open plant to 15 ft

6 to 7 feet `Accra’

Abundant 4″ wide golden blooms have orange-yellow centers. Full plant.

`Fiesta’ Pumpkin orange single blooms 6″ across have overlapped ruffled petals, white centers streaked with red. Vigorous plant, with somewhat open growth to 7 ft.

`Fullmoon’Symmetrical double blooms are lemon yellow. Full, leafy plant reaches 6 ft.

`Hula Girl’ Smooth edged petals on single blossoms are rich yellow with bright red centers. Dense foliage on 6 ft. plant.

`President’ Salmon red 6″ blooms shade to rose-pink in center. Glossy, deep green leaves on bushy plant.

`Kona Improved’ Rich pink double blooms. Hefty, leafy plant to 15 ft

7 to 8 feet `Butterfly’ Brilliant yellow single blooms 4″ wide. Mild mannered bushy shrub to 7 ft.

`Cherie’ Bright yellow-orange 4″ to 5″ blooms. Open plant to 8 ft.

`Powder Puff’ (`K Beauty’). Creamy double blooms 5″ across develop hint of pink in cool weather. Upright, open plant reaches 8 ft.

`Ross Estey’ Hefty 8″ single blooms have overlapped petals with salmon petals with salmon edges shading to pastel pink toward base; centers are deep rose. Blooms last two to three days. Plant is strong grower to 8 ft., with bushy habit.

10 to 15 feet`Agnes Galt’Single shrimp pink 8^1/2” blooms.

`Amour’Large 6″-7″ powder pink single blooms. Hefty, open plant to 10 ft.

`Brilliant’(`San Diego Red’). Velvety red single blooms 6″ across. Large, open bush grows vigorously to 15 ft.

`Empire’Single 5″-6″ orange-red blooms. Large plant to 10 ft.

Itsy Bitsy (Dainty) strain Single blooms 2″-3″ across are pink (`Itsy Bitsy Pink’) or white (`Itsy Bitsy White’). These are also called`Pink Dainty’and `White Dainty’. Leaves are half the traditional size, which gives plant an open look; to 10 ft.

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Hibiscus