Native hibiscus are tall, shrub-like, woody-based herbaceous perennials in the Malvaceae or mallow family. Okra and cotton are non-natives also in this family. Hibiscus have huge, colorful flowers in shades of white, pink, red, or burgundy that are blooming now until early fall. The flowers are up to 8 inches in diameter and have spreading petals, some with a contrasting central eye of red or burgundy. Hibiscus are attractive as specimen plants in your garden and have wildlife value for nectar-feeders and birds. Its saucer-shaped flowers are an attractant for pollinators, hummingbirds, butterflies, and specialized bees (and obviously grasshoppers, see Monica Boutte's photo below). Because of their adaptation to wet soils, they can be used in bog gardens or other water features.
Hibiscuses do well in full to partial sun and wet to constantly moist soils containing loam, silt, or some sand with organic material and a slightly acidic pH. In full sun, the plant has better bloom production and is more disease resistant. Hibiscus tolerate heat, humidity, and wet soil, and are slightly salt tolerant. Pinching back the growing tips will encourage plants to be more bush-like, and deadheading the spent flowers will improve a plant's appearance. Or you can leave the spent flowers and collect their abundant, easy-to-germinate seeds once the pods are dry and brown. Individual flowers are short-lived, but the blooming period generally lasts about 1 month. Cut back the stems nearly to ground level when winter temperatures start to warm if you want to support insects overwintering in the stems. But if you can't stand the look, removing stems in fall is fine. Propagate Hibiscus using seeds, stem cuttings, or plant division.
Common Hibiscus species include Crimsoneyed Rosemallow (H. moscheutos, magenta variety above, left), Scarlet Rosemallow (H. coccineus, above, right, white variety below), Halberdleaf Rosemallow (H. laevis) and Rosemallow (H. lasiocarpos). A popular cousin is Virginia Saltmarsh Mallow (Kosteletskya virginica). Numerous hybrids of the native North American Hibiscus species have been released by the commercial nursery trade, but straight native species conserve beneficial ecological qualities that can be lost in nativar cultivation.
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