Hibiscus: Wild Hibiscus, 1 by Michael_Ronayne

Michael_Ronayne wrote:
BeachGirlNJ,

There should be truly wild populations of Hibiscus moscheutos growing throughout your area on the New Jersey shore. I see them all the time along the NJ Turnpike which is inland from your location at Bayville NJ. I will be vacationing in Sea Isle City this August and plan to collect wild specimens of Hibiscus moscheutos of specific color combinations, if I can find them and collect them legally.

In 1970 Dr. Harold F. Winters published the following paper on Hardy Hibiscus which references wild populations of Hibiscus moscheutos in New Jersey.

Our Hardy Hibiscus Species as Ornamentals
Harold F. Winters
Economic Botany, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun., 1970), pp. 155-164
http://www.jstor.org/stable/4253137

The H. moscheutos in which I am most interested is pure white and in is show in the attached picture extracted from the paper but flowers with yellow coloration have also been reported. Dr. Winters is the developer of the Blue River II, which is a pure white H. moscheutos hybrid which doesn’t have any New Jersey ancestry in its heritage.

The red Hibiscus you saw in the garden was most likely a hybrid between H. moscheutos and H. coccineus and several closely related species which have been selected for hardiness and color. Most New Jersey garden centers have two or three cultivars for sale put you should expect to pay between $25 to $35 and the selection is limited.

If you can wait a year to grow the Hardy Hibiscus to size try this eBay seller:
http://shop.ebay.com/dogwooderitternet/m.html
Search on “Hardy Hibiscus” but he also has some great Tropical Hibiscus.

eBay feedback is 100%, the plant quality is outstanding, the prices and shipping costs are very low with a VERY big discount for multiple orders. It is worth purchasing a plant from dogwooderitternet just to see how the plants are packed.

If you purchase any Hardy Hibiscus, be sure to include 'Moy Grande’ from Texas which is reported to have the largest Hibiscus flower ever created with a diameter of over one foot. A truly Texas sized Hibiscus flower from Texas.

If you find any interesting wild H. moscheutos in your area send me a DMail. There are wild populations growing around Packanack Lake, Wayne, New Jersey but no pure white flowers.

Mike
p.s. The caption on the graphic reads:
"Fig. 1. White flowered plant from Cape May, New Jersey, showing mostly the characteristics ascribed to Hibiscus moscheutos subsp. palustrus (L.) Clausen."


This message was edited Jul 4, 2010 7:30 PM