Hibiscus: Wake-up And Smell The Hardy Hibiscus, 1 by Michael_Ronayne

Michael_Ronayne wrote:
As regular readers of the Hibiscus forum know, I have been researching Hibiscus grandiflorus outside its normal comfort zone and into Zone 6b where I live.

Hibiscus grandiflorus in the Cold
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1187448/

While reading about Hibiscus grandiflorus recently I learned that Hibiscus grandiflorus is reported to be both fragrant and a night bloomer. I did notice the unusual bloom times for my Hibiscus grandiflorus last year but failed to draw the correct conclusion and never though to check any of my hardy Hibiscus for fragrance. Note that I still need to verify these observations with the Hibiscus grandiflorus I am growing.

Hibiscus grandiflorus and its hybrids should be of interest to those keeping butterfly and humming bird gardens. Obviously fragrance would be a big advantage for a night bloomer in attracting pollinators. Here are my sources:

Hibiscus grandiflorus by Dr. Steve Christman
http://www.floridata.com/ref/h/hibi_gra.cfm

Features
We love to grow the native American Hibiscus, and this one is our favorite. It's the largest North American Hibiscus and has the largest flowers. It's the only one that is fragrant, and the only one that blooms at night.

Another authoritative source identified Hibiscus Moy Grande, a Hibiscus grandiflorus hybrid, as fragrant.

The Gigantean Flower Only From Texas by Dr. Jerry M. Parsons
http://www.plantanswers.com/hibiscus.htm

Another cut flower advantage of Moy Grande is one of its parents, H. grandiflorus, is fragrant giving Moy Grande fragrance as well.

I found one retail website which specializes in humming bird gardens, recommending most hardy Hibiscus as fragrant, but I can’t accept that with out additional evidence, particularly when botanists are only identifying Hibiscus grandiflorus and its hybrids as being fragrant. For now the only Hibiscus in section Muenchhusia which is documented as fragrant is Hibiscus grandiflorus. For additional information on the 5 universally recognized species in section Muenchhusia see the following:

Hibiscus section Muenchhusia
http://www.malvaceae.info/Genera/Hibiscus/Muenchhusia.php

Almost all of the hardy Hibiscus which are under cultivation today are the result of hybridization of the five Muenchhusia species over the last 100 years. It is possible that if more than one Muenchhusia species is fragrant, that trait could have been lost through hybridization and selective breeding. The only way to verify this, would to sniff know specimens of wild Hibiscus in section Muenchhusia. The converse could also be true; many of our hardy Hibiscus cultivars could be fragrant if they have Hibiscus grandiflorus ancestry. Some Hibiscus breeders were very secretive about their breeding strategies or used open pollination, so we don’t know the full ancestry of many of our popular hardy Hibiscus.

To the best of my knowledge, with the possible exception of Moy Grande, no one has attempted to breed hardy Hibiscus for fragrance and/or night blooming characteristics. Night blooming also equates to extended bloom times. This could open new areas of breeding opportunity for hardy Hibiscus.

So please smell your hardy Hibiscus and report your findings here.

Mike