Above, the latest addition to our hibiscus collection, a hardy hibiscus called “Turn of the Century.” The blossoms have a seven-inch diameter. By “hardy,” they mean the opposite of tropical, and these can survive hard freezes. I ordered three plants from Jackson & Perkins in April, and two sprouted. Amazingly, they flower in about four months and keep flowering. I love hibiscus plants despite the fact that their blooms only last about 24 hours. We have two large pots of red, tropical hibiscus that we winter-over in the greenhouse. They are approaching 40 years old now, and still bloom like crazy all summer long–once they recover from their annual prune-back in May. Hibiscus are amazingly diverse. Here’s a gallery of four of them–out of seemingly hundreds.
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- Dinnerplate Variety
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- Blue Angel
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- Another Dinnerplate Variety
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- Coral Grande
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