Signup to receive email updates
Recent Posts
Categories
Blog Archives
- August 2017 (1)
- July 2017 (2)
- June 2017 (3)
- May 2017 (2)
- January 2017 (1)
- December 2016 (4)
- November 2016 (1)
- July 2016 (2)
- June 2016 (2)
- May 2016 (2)
- March 2016 (2)
- February 2016 (1)
- January 2016 (1)
- December 2015 (3)
- October 2015 (4)
- September 2015 (2)
- August 2015 (4)
- July 2015 (2)
- June 2015 (6)
- May 2015 (5)
- April 2015 (5)
- February 2015 (5)
- January 2015 (1)
- December 2014 (4)
- November 2014 (4)
- October 2014 (2)
- September 2014 (3)
- August 2014 (5)
- July 2014 (6)
- June 2014 (8)
- May 2014 (4)
- March 2014 (1)
- February 2014 (1)
- December 2013 (1)
- November 2013 (1)
- October 2013 (3)
- September 2013 (4)
- August 2013 (6)
- July 2013 (3)
- June 2013 (5)
- May 2013 (7)
- April 2013 (2)
- February 2013 (1)
- December 2012 (1)
- November 2012 (3)
- October 2012 (3)
- September 2012 (3)
- August 2012 (1)
143 Total Posts
follow our RSS feed

Friday, August 4, 2017
Plant of the Week: Perennial Hibiscus
I don't know about you, but I've been noticing that perennial hibiscus plants are looking awesome in the landscape these past few weeks!
So, this week I'm featuring the Perennial or Hardy Hibiscus (Hibiscus mosheutos). Many gardeners are familiar with the tropical hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) that we grow as houseplants in the winter and set outside for the summer, or the shrub hibiscus, better known as Rose-of-Sharon, Hibiscus syriacus. This hibiscus though, is a great addition to the perennial landscape here in Illinois with its hardiness to zone 4.
Perennial hibiscus is traditionally one of the latest perennials to emerge in the spring which always make me wonder if it's coming back or not. But alas, it always does though!
Fast forward a couple of months after spring and hibiscus is now about 4-5 feet tall with gorgeous flowers in my landscape. The mature height of perennial hibiscus can range from 2-8 feet depending on the cultivar. Foliage color can be either green or a nice dark purple like the ones in my landscape.
Flowering typically occurs in July-September with showy, dinner plate-sized, hollyhock-like flowers (each to 4-6" in diameter). The flowers are complete with five overlapping white, creamy white or pink petals with reddish-purple to dark crimson bases which form a sharply contrasting central eye.
This perennial is easily grown in average, medium to wet soils in full sun. It does best in moist, organically rich soils, but does surprisingly well in average garden soils as long as those soils are not allowed to dry out. Perennial hibiscus should be cut to about 3-4" from the ground at the end of the season. Next year, new growth will appear late but will grow quickly.
Learn more here:http://urbanext.illinois.edu/hortanswers/plantdetail.cfm?PlantID=729&PlantTypeID=2