Hibiscus: Cockatoo, 1 by htop

htop wrote:
carlo05, thank you for posting the photos and information about the Cockatoo. I have a hibiscus (which I have been unable to identify) that was given to me that bloomed as a pink double last summer. Its first blooms opened this past week and instead of being double, they had 10 open petals with 1 petal being considerably smaller than the rest, the background petals being of equal size and the others somewhat varying in size,and a little "tongue" in the middle. I had been very confused about this. I had been trying to determine why the blooms are so different than they were in the summer. These were my thoughts as I was trying to solve the mystery (mystery to me, anyway):

At first I thought perhaps I was just going a bit crazy and "seeing weird things".

Then, I thought that aliens had zapped it because one of my lantana's blooms are a different color than they should be as well as a few other plants looking differently than they usually do.

Maybe the abnormal fall and winter weather which was extremely warm and the cooler than normal spring had affected the flower formation.

I had brought it in the house during a couple of hard freezes and then put it back outside when the temperatures warmed up ... Maybe this was the explanation. No, this couldn't be it because I had done the same thing with several of my other hibiscus and their blooms are "normal". (I started talking to myself).

Due to my having to water it a lot due to a drought, could the flouride in the water affect this hibiscus and not my other ones?

Perhaps my big old dog had urinated in the container right before I had watered the plant. The dog urine did not kill it, but it affected the bloom formation. :o)

Could I have fed it with the chrysanthemum fertiizer instead of the hibiscus fertilizer, the plant thought it was an "open-face" chrysanthemum and was having an identity crisis? :o)

Then, I thought that maybe it has different flower characteristics in the spring than it does in the summer ... No , this couldn't be it. I have never seen a hibiscus change flower forms; although I do observe larger blooms and more intense colors in cooler weather. (Talkng to myself again)

Anyway, I won't bore you with anymore of my trying to think this out. I came to the Hibiscus Forum in order to try to identify this hibiscus and lo and behold, carlo05, you solved my mystery. Now, if I could just identify the hibiscus.

Here's a phoot of a flower just after opening ...