What Types of Hardy Hibiscus Are There?
- Dinner plate hibiscus are hardy to zone 4.Shioguchi/Digital Vision/Getty Images
Many people are familiar with the tropical hibiscus plants available in garden centers and florist shops. If you love hibiscus' exotic blooms, you should know that there are other hibiscus plants that are winter-hardy in much of the U.S. Most varieties of hardy hibiscus bloom in late summer and fall, bringing showy flowers to a season when many other plants have passed their peak. These easy-to-grow perennials and shrubs also attract butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden. - Rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) is a U.S. wildflower native to wetlands all along the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and as far west as Michigan and Alabama. It's the parent of hybrids sometimes called dinner plate hibiscus, because of its 10- to 12-inch flowers. These fast-growing perennials bloom from late summer to frost, and do best in rich, moist soil in full sun. The cultivar Anne Arundel has pink flowers. Disco Belle hibiscus are 3-foot plants with flowers that range from white to dark red. Kopper King is grown for its deeply lobed, coppery-red leaves. Rose mallow hibiscus are hardy to U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone 4.
- Confederate roses (Hibiscus mutabilis) are large shrubs in zones 9 and 10, but die back to ground level like hardy perennials in zone 8, their northernmost range. This Chinese hibiscus has 4- to 6-inch, doubled blooms. It flowers in late summer and fall. The variety Blood on the Rose has flowers that open white, then change to deep pink and then red as the flowers age. Rubra has red flowers. Confederate rose hibiscus has large, gray-green leaves that are attractive even when the plant's not in flower. Grow confederate rose hibiscus in full sun or partial shade, in moist, well-drained soil.
- The Texas star hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus) also is known as the scarlet swamp hibiscus and the scarlet rose mallow. This herbaceous perennial is native to swamps and marshes in the southeastern U.S. The Texas star has large, single red flowers about 3 to 4 inches in diameter, and deeply lobed leaves. It forms a tall, thin plant, 6- to 8-feet tall, with the flowers at the top of the plant. This is a good plant to grow around the edges of ponds or streams. Lord Baltimore is a cultivar with larger, deep red flowers. Lady Baltimore has pink petals with a dark red eye. Texas star hibiscus is hardy to zone 7.
- Rose of Sharon is a hardy hibiscus shrub.hibiscus image by photlook from Fotolia.com
Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) is a deciduous shrub hardy in zones 5 through 8. It has the same funnel-shaped flowers as the tropical hibiscus, but they are smaller and less showy. This vase-shaped shrub has a mature size of 8 feet in height and 4 feet in width. Diana is a heavily-blooming cultivar with white flowers. Bluebird has lavender-blue flowers with a dark pink eye. Ardens is a purple, double-flowered cultivar. All rose of Sharon shrubs do best in full sun or partial shade, and are very adaptable to different soil conditions.
