Hibiscus

Tropical hibiscus is a glossy-leaved evergreen shrub grown for its huge, showy flowers that flare into trumpets up to 6 inches across in reds, pinks, oranges, yellows, and bicolors.

Though each individual bloom is short-lived, a healthy plant produces a steady succession of flowers, giving a long display in warm climates or as a sunny patio plant.

Widely planted in the tropics as hedges and specimens, it is also grown in containers and brought indoors over winter in cooler regions.

Recognize tropical hibiscus by:

• Flowers: Large, funnel-shaped blooms with five overlapping petals and a long central column of fused stamens topped by a prominent stigma.
• Leaves: Glossy, dark-green, oval, toothed leaves.
• Habit: An upright evergreen shrub, often 4-10 feet tall where hardy.
• Bloom life: Each flower typically lasts only one to two days.
• Stems: Woody, branching, with smooth bark.

Hibiscus rewards warmth, light, and steady moisture.

• Light: Full sun to very bright light for maximum flowering.
• Water: Keep soil evenly moist during active growth; do not let it dry out or stay waterlogged.
• Soil: Rich, well-drained, slightly acidic soil.
• Temperature: Tropical and frost-tender; protect below about 50 degrees F and overwinter indoors in cold climates.
• Feeding: Feed regularly in the growing season with a bloom-promoting, potassium-rich fertilizer.
• Propagation: Propagate from softwood cuttings; prune in spring to shape and encourage new flowering wood.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is a long-cultivated species of uncertain wild origin, associated with tropical Asia and the Pacific. It thrives in warm, humid, frost-free climates.

It is grown throughout the tropics and subtropics as an ornamental hedge and landscape shrub, and worldwide as a greenhouse, conservatory, or patio container plant. It is the national flower of Malaysia and the state flower of Hawaii.