ID please!?

I am very new to hibiscus. Bought this one at a privately owned garden center that was going out of business and had no plant tags. Was told this was a dinner plate hibiscus. Hmmm. Can you id it for me?

H. mutabilis

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/293182/

Thanks!

As was already indicated, you have a Hibiscus mutabilis (double) which is also know as a “Confederate Rose” which despite its name is from China.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/714/

I have four specimens in my Zone 6b front yard which are over four feet high but did not bloom this summer. I envy you your Zone 8b conditions. This is not a dinner plate size Hibiscus but in your Zone should grow to the size of a large bush or small tree if you allow it. The flowers will last for several days and change color over time, hence the name “mutabilis”.

Hibiscus mutabilis can be pollinated by hardy Hibiscus and will produce sterile offspring. I don’t know if anyone has attempted chromosome doubling with the hybrids, which are not in the trade. One of my plants is Hibiscus mutabilis Alma's Star which was only a few weeks away from flowing when the summer ended. It is almost impossible NOT to root Hibiscus mutabilis and I have started new clones of Alma's Star and plan to winterize the outside plants; perhaps I will get lucky next year!

There is a long discussion of Hibiscus mutabilis, including Alam’s Star here:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/546774/

Mike

Thanks for the info Mike. I will to the link and read up on it, too!

nbgard....I tried to find a better photo, but here's one of my Conf. Roses that blooms white to pink to fuschia. You can see that it towers over the gate, nearly to the top of our second story. It blooms continually from Sept. thru Nov. They like the sun, which I have little of in my side yard. In the back garden, I have a dark pink that has stayed under 6 ft. And along the north side of the garden, a hedge of the white ones that have become small trees. They are messy....but make amends by showing off their gorgeous blooms....
I received my cuttings from a DGer in AL about 4 years ago in early Nov....just some "sticks" that I placed in a bucket and sat in the corner of my breakfast room. In mid-Dec, I ck'd on them and they already had small roots. I planted as many as I had room for in late Feb., and gave the rest to gardening friends. They're something our neighbors look forward to each fall.

Wow! That's huge bigbubbles! I plan on planting mine at our property outside of Blanco. I bet it will do well there. Have you trainied any of yours as standards?

I wrote a reply, but it disappeared!
This is a white, turning to pink that was a 2' cutting last fall. It's now a 5' plant or standard. I 'stuck' it in the front yard behind a brug just to see if the afternoon sun would make a difference. I think it did. I have not had good luck trying to keep them short and "bushy." They seem to want to be small trees in my back garden. I believe it's because I have so much shade. They're craning toward the sun. I know they aren't picky about soils or water. The hard freeze we had last winter didn't phase them.

Again, not the best pic...but taken from our upstairs deck out back. You can sort of see how tall the row of Conf. roses are. They're towering over the north fence line.
BTW...that morning glory is one that "escaped" from my garden and is threatening to take over the neighbors hedges. We just can't get rid of it! I ordered two from Natural Gardener, even tho the clerk insisted I only needed one. I should have listened....

Sandi,

What is the flowering time for Hibiscus mutabilis in your Zone? Do you see any difference in the timing of the flowers based on the size or maturity of the Hibiscus mutabilis?

How long does it take to set seeds? I am starting to question if I have any hope of getting seeds in Zone 6b, unless I get my Greenhouse erected.

Mike

Mike......They seem to start blooming in Sept. when it "cools down to under 100." Bloom continually thru Nov until first freeze. As bloom fall off, there's a seed pod growing on the stem. I have a bag full from last year. I convinced the people who wanted to try seeds to just take a cutting also. A lot quicker gratification....and they'll get their own seed pods the following year.

Guess I set the photo up backwards, but right to left...the bloom falls off, then the pod begins to grow, and finally the dried pod.... each with many seeds. I have to say, I've never tried to grow them from seed. It's too easy to propagate from cuttings. If you'd like to try fresh seeds, though, I'll let some dry on the big tree. I don't know if the ones I kept from last year are viable, but there's still a sack full.

Sandi,

I was afraid that was going to be your answer. I saw exactly the same bloom time behavior with my H. mutabilis Alma’s Star and the doubles and it was not nearly that hot in New Jersey. Small buds started appearing in late September. The three H. mutabilis doubles quickly gave up and the small buds dropped off but the Alma’s Star is still trying as of this morning (see attached picture). Some of the buds are actually showing color at the tips. I should have done my homework about the blooming times for H. mutabilis. From all the posts about how beautiful the flowers were I assumed that H. mutabilis was a summer bloomer when in fact it is a fall bloomer. No excuses, the DG PlantFiles clearly states “Late Summer/Early Fall” for the Bloom Time, while I was fixated on growing the plant in Zone 6b. H. mutabilis is clearly a longer night bloomer or prefers a day/night cycle of equal lengths.

I posted a picture of the plant tag for H. mutabilis Alma’s Star here:
http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/2009/10/25/Michael_Ronayne/e37544.jpg
The grower states that Alma’s Star can survive into Zone 6, which I am assuming is with protection; not that I believe the growers in all cases. If the H. mutabilis makes it through the winter and I keep the whiteflies at bay during the summer (which I can now do) and have a mild fall in 2011, I just may be able to get some flowers next fall which set seeds. My problem will be that the bloom times for some of the H. moscheutos hybrids I was thinking of crossing with H. mutabilis just overlap, so I will have a very small window of opportunity and no second chances.

I ran into the same problem with H. grandiflorus but was able to obtain hybrid seeds which are now growing. DG PlantFiles is all over the place on the bloom times for H. grandiflorus and depending on location all of the feedback may be correct.

As they say in Baseball; “wait until next year”!

Mike

I would be very interest in the experience of any one who is growing H. mutabilis from seeds and if the seeds of doubles breed true?

Did anyone else plant H. mutabilis Alma’s Star this year and were the advertised flowers produced? I am wondering if Alma’s Star is a tetraploid chimera as large blooms are indicative of that condition. If I ever get flowers, I could compare the size of pollen grains, as tetraploids are always larger than diploids.

As Sandi noted “It's too easy to propagate from cuttings”, actually it is almost impossible not to propagate H. mutabilis from cuttings. Rooting these Hibiscus would be a great project an elementary school biology class.

Mike