Posted by oriole (from Mifflintown, PA) on February 10, 2008 at 1:53 AM:Thanks for interesting article. I just planted H. seed that a DG sent me last yr. I hope they are still O.K. I seen 2 kind of them were marked hardy.
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Posted by pixie62560 (from South China, ME) on February 10, 2008 at 7:43 AM:
Great article Lee Anne. You do have a tire screeching beautiful plant! I too did not realize they would be hardy up until about a year or two ago. Now I have 2 varieties and want more!!
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Posted by debilu (from Fingerlakes Region, NY) on February 10, 2008 at 8:59 AM:
One of my favorite plants, and they are so easy to start a new one. Great article.
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Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on February 10, 2008 at 9:08 AM:
Oh my, I had no idea and I think they are so beautiful. I gotta have me some of these. Thanks for sharing.
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Posted by podster (from Deep East Texas, TX) on February 10, 2008 at 10:26 AM:
Thank you for the fun and informative article. Last year was my first time overwintering this plant and I agree it was so slow coming back I almost uprooted it. When it did, it was worth it. Glad you are inspiring more people in all climates to grow this lovely bloomer.
Looking forward to the article on drinking hot coffee when it is hot!
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Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on February 10, 2008 at 10:55 AM:
Great article on a super plant - yours are beautiful!
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 10, 2008 at 6:48 PM:
I bought my second hardy hibiscus last summer - we haven't actually managed to plant either of them. The first one died inside - I figure #2 has a better chance outside than in here where nobody ever waters it. Beautiful pictures and article!
xx, Carrie
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Posted by MistyPetals (from North Augusta, SC) on February 10, 2008 at 9:33 PM:
I enjoyed the tone and the content of this article. Of course, I planted ten rose bushes this weekend and needed some light, fun reading to enjoy after that workout.
I have seeds for hardy hibiscus so I'll put some in soon. They're going alongside the shed to relieve the eyesore. Who wants to look at the shed when I can these instead. Nice article. Inspiring.
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Posted by threegardeners (from North Augusta, ON) on February 10, 2008 at 9:35 PM:
Thanks all.
They are, by far, one of my most favorite perennials. I'm glad the article was enjoyable :))
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Posted by soapwort243 (from South Milwaukee, WI) on February 10, 2008 at 9:59 PM:
I have a white one, with a little red center, in my back. It is very pretty, with large blooms. Then, I visited a friend and she had a very dark crimson--(almost a black) in her front yard and it was a tire screecher !! I have been looking for one like it-(to no avail), but had to settle for a dark red. I planted it in fall, in my front yard. I have my fingers crossed that it will be a tire screecher !! :)
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Posted by bamafan (from Brookwood, AL) on February 11, 2008 at 7:31 AM:
I have the Pink Hibiscus. I got it at a Flee market in Mobile Alabama. It is like she wrote. It comes back every year just as pretty as ever. I'm in Zone 7 It is the prettiest plant I have in my yard. I will be looking for more different colors this summer. I really didn't know exactly what it was called. But I love it. It blooms all summer long. Thank you for the info.
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Posted by Fitsy (from Hayesville, NC) on February 11, 2008 at 9:10 AM:
Mine are unhappy about who knows what -
my pH or something.
Fitsy
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Posted by tcs1366 (from Itasca, IL) on February 11, 2008 at 9:28 AM:
Great article.... I have seeds that i have gotten in swaps... I'm going to try and Winter Sow some seeds this winter and see what pops up.
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Posted by podster (from Deep East Texas, TX) on February 11, 2008 at 9:30 AM:
Hi Fitsy ~ why do you say yours are unhappy?
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Posted by MistyPetals (from North Augusta, SC) on February 11, 2008 at 7:18 PM:
I hate to jump into some one else's Q&A but I'm wondering if the soil was the cause of the disappointment experienced.
Somewhere I read not to overfeed these plants or they are, to use the word used, unhappy.
Any plant that yearns to be neglected is a challenge for me because I tend to coddle mine.
Some plants, from my limited knowledge, want to be, like Garbo, left alone. No food, no water. No nuttin'.
Then again, these are probably, the thriftiest in terms of amendments,wouldn't ya say? Hmm...?
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Posted by threegardeners (from North Augusta, ON) on February 11, 2008 at 7:29 PM:
I've only ever had a problem with one of mine, and the soil in that area of the garden was lacking in nitrogen. His leaves turned yellow.
As a rule, I don't fertilize, just compost. As long as they are given a good drink when it's hot and dry, they are pretty tolerant.
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 11, 2008 at 8:34 PM:
Good news for me! If only I can get it (him?) planted and he's not dead yet!
x, Carrie
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Posted by seedy1 (from Bessemer, AL) on February 11, 2008 at 10:26 PM:
I would love to have one of these hardy hibiscus. Where might I order one or do I just keep a watchful eye out at my local gardens shops? I just do not recall ever seeing them before at the shops though. Thanks for any advice.
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Posted by threegardeners (from North Augusta, ON) on February 11, 2008 at 10:28 PM:
I've never seen them on-line, but then I don't shop online all that often.
Maybe someone will pop in with an answer,
I'd still keep an eye on the garden centres though.
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Posted by lbontrager (from Aurora, NE) on February 12, 2008 at 7:05 PM:
For Seedy1... you can find some at [HYPERLINK@www.plantdelights.com.] I know I have seen other online sites that carry them.
For soapwort 243... If you want a dark crimson, try Robert Fleming. It is almost black/red and has attractive deep green foliage. It is compact and shorter than the average hibiscus. I have about a dozen and it remains my favorite.
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 12, 2008 at 7:50 PM:
Seedy,
I bought both of my unfortunate hardy hibiscus locally, one at a local garden center and one at a Farmer's Market. In August, I think, in both cases. You can also grow them from seed.
x, Carrie
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Posted by tcs1366 (from Itasca, IL) on February 12, 2008 at 8:34 PM:
Carrie -- any idea if the WS well? i have a bunch of seeds. colors?? i have no idea, the envies just say "Hardy Hibiscus".
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 12, 2008 at 8:49 PM:
I've heard they do, never done it myself. Good luck! x, Carrie
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Posted by Fitsy (from Hayesville, NC) on February 12, 2008 at 9:54 PM:
Hi, Podster and Misty Petals, thanks for your interest.
Well, they just aren't flourishing. They start to bloom, and
then sort of decide to quit. The plants are puny.
I planted them in 2006 in right stiff clay, so I prepared their
space with lime, peat, and granite dust, and used Schultz
liquid 10-54-10. The instructions that came with them said
to fertilize every 6-8 weeks, but since planting them I have only
put composted tree trimmings on them - and some manure
tea. No response. Interesting about overfeeding VS the
instructions. Oh, and they are on a sort of hump of ground,
so plenty of drainage, I reckon.,
Fitsy
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Posted by podster (from Deep East Texas, TX) on February 13, 2008 at 12:50 AM:
Ms Fitsy ~ did the leaves continue to look good but the blooms petered out?
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Posted by Fitsy (from Hayesville, NC) on February 13, 2008 at 10:06 PM:
I would say the whole plants (3 of them) look sad. Last
summer on their page in my notebook I wrote that they
looked "bothered". Right vague! I'm afraid that I don't
"read" them very well. Never been around them before.
There is a lot of charcoal on the ground there from some
fire in the past. Maybe an awful chemical is there!
However, the wild lambs quarters are happy there,,
and wild blackberry is invading with healthy looking shoots.
I actually had to lift an hibiscus to free it from a blackberry.
Every winter I grub out blackberry roots, and I am winning,
really, I am!
Fitsy
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Posted by podster (from Deep East Texas, TX) on February 13, 2008 at 11:16 PM:
Hang in there. I wonder if the blackberries like your soil, perhaps the Hibiscus require a different soil PH. I am afraid I don't know that one.
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Posted by Fitsy (from Hayesville, NC) on February 14, 2008 at 2:44 PM:
Thanks anyway!
Fitsy
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Posted by dmbf874 (from Eastpointe, MI) on May 26, 2008 at 12:35 AM:
It's the end of May (I'm in Michigan) and two of my three Hibiscus have not started growing. Is it time to give up on them :(
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Posted by threegardeners (from North Augusta, ON) on May 26, 2008 at 11:03 AM:
No!!!
Mine aren't up yet either. Give em a couple more weeks. Once they start they grow super quick!!
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Posted by soapwort243 (from South Milwaukee, WI) on May 26, 2008 at 11:48 AM:
I thought for sure that mine died! They are just showing green from the base now!! They came thru for me
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Posted by dmbf874 (from Eastpointe, MI) on May 26, 2008 at 8:37 PM:
There is still hope:) Yaaaa!
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took a quick head count, decided all were present and accounted for. Only then did I look farther into the street. There was a man behind the wheel of a van looking sheepish and apologetic while pointing to my front flower bed. In the flower bed was a woman with a camera taking pictures from every conceivable angle. She was capturing the plant in the picture to the left. Hibiscus moscheutos. Of course I had to go speak with her!! I ran back in and grabbed my coffee, preparing for a tour of the gardens. I figured if her Hubby was the sort to come to a screeching halt for her to take a photo, he wouldn't mind waiting for her to take a little stroll. He might even join us. He didn't, deciding to stay in the air conditioned comfort of the van.
and they still keep coming back, bigger and better every year. I don't give them any special treatment in the fall, no mulch, no burlap wraps, fend for yourself. That's the kind of gardener I am. And they come back. During the hottest summer days, they may need a drink if it hasn't rained in a while. They can get droopy looking if they get too dry, but other than that, nothing. I don't even fertilize them. They are one of the last of the perennials to poke their heads up in the spring. Just when you may think they have succumbed to the ravages of winter, give them two, or three, more weeks. They are surprisingly fast growers once they start. I have never tried to divide them, but they start easily from new shoots, in water or soil. I gave the lady a few I had in pots out back to take home with her. As they get older and bushier they might require staking. I push bamboo stakes in the ground in 4 or 5 places around the plant and wrap whatever I have handy around the stakes, like a fence. The blossoms, which are dinner plate in size, do not appreciate wind. No worries though, since they are covered in buds, with open flowers daily from the end of July right up until frost.
