Hibiscus: Ohio hardy hibiscus 2011, 1 by Michael_Ronayne

Michael_Ronayne wrote:
Kathy,

Your Hibiscus continue to confound me. Just when I thought I had them figured out, I am surprised. Attached is a picture of one of your Hibiscus growing in Nutley NJ. What was the surprise? It started blooming a 3 AM in the morning when I discovered it fully open; by late morning it had started to close. The temperatures in my backyard in the shade have been 104F and I don’t know if night blooming is a typical response to such unusually high temperatures. Just when I convince myself that that we are dealing with a variety of Hibiscus moscheutos the though of Hibiscus grandiflorus keeps coming to mind because of the night blooming behavior.

In the last several weeks has anyone observed their Hibiscus moscheutos starting to bloom at night in response to the unusually high temperatures? Temperatures are now starting to moderate and I will see if the bloom times for this Hibiscus change to a more normal range.

Perhaps all North American Hibiscus will bloom at night during hot weather but it is just more obvious in Hibiscus grandiflorus which is at the extreme Southern end of the range.

Mike