I am way out of my realm re "Hibiscus" so I do appreciate in advance your advice. (Our only hibiscus is our 3 year old "Lucy" which does a great job of flowering in a quite shady location)
This past weekend I made a small addition to our garden. (See the left 'sector')
I know it is small but instead of planting more perennials I wanted to put in a something 'different'. I was thinking that there might be a (very) dwarf hibiscus. Are there any outstanding choices in this regard?
I think there are some H. moscheutus that are small. It's just too early, so I can't think of specific examples right now.
Barb
You might want to try any of plants in the Hibiscus Luna series which are a dwarf hardy Hibiscus growing to between 2 to 3 feet in height.
Hibiscus Luna
http://www.panamseed.com/series_info.aspx?phid=033102347004669
If you hurry, you may be able to find some Hibiscus Luna plants for half-price at your local garden center. Try calling around to see if anyone has them and if they are on sale.
Hibiscus Luna are sold as both plants and seeds. When sold as seeds they generally designated as “Hibiscus Luna F1”, meaning they are a first generation hybrid of two other inbreed lines. There are two ways to distribute seeds which breed true. One way is to create inbreed lines with little genetic variation. The second way is to cross two inbreed lines to produce an F1 hybrid between the two lines. The Hibiscus Luna F1 seeds will not breed true.
There are many other excellent dwarf hardy Hibiscus but the Hibiscus Luna series are the easiest to find because they are popular with growers and gardeners.
Mike
Thanks Michael for the detailed reply. It has got me thinking more carefully which Hibiscus could go in my new garden. Are there Hibiscus or Rose of Sharon 'trees' which are short in stature? I guess I could imagine a small 'tree' in the spot with compact dense foliage above ie no far reaching branches and so there would be room to plant annuals underneath.
The Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) which immediately comes to mind is Lil' Kim (TM) Hibiscus syriacus 'Antong Two' which only grows to a height of 3 to 4 feet:
http://www.gardencrossings.com/plantname/Hibiscus-Lil-Kim
This is stem mutation diploid which will produce seeds. In Canada you should be able to control, it without too much difficulty. This shrub was discovered in South Korea and it is the only miniature Rose of Sharon in the world. Growing to only 3-4 feet tall, this unique little shrub creates many new landscape and garden uses; like mixed containers or perennial beds. The 3-inch pure white flowers are punctuated with a showy red eye and last for three days instead of one day like other Rose of Sharons.
Here is additional information:
http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/plant.asp?code=C757
http://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/plants/3025/lil-kim-rose-of-sharon.php
The Plant Patent documents the seed production:
http://www.google.com/search?q=PP19547&tbm=pts
I don’t know where you would obtain this Hibiscus is Canada. I am going some exotic Hibiscus crosses and I am thinking about this Hibiscus for next year.
Mike
That was it! The Luna hibiscus.
I had not heard of the dwarf RoS. Sounds wonderful!
Barb
Be careful on where you grow Rose of Sharon plants. It is a very prolific seed setter and the US Forest Service Considers it as a weed!! http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/invasive_plants/weeds/rose-of-sharon.pdf
Just wanted to let you know so that you are prepared. With the great looking flowers, I hate to call Rose of Sharon a weed.
Hope you have a great time in your garden. :)
Barb,
MajiA is correct, Lil Kim is as I noted above a diploid and produces 20 seeds per flower on average. In your Zone 9a garden it could easily get out of control. In my Zone 6b garden or Canada it would be better behaved. Unfortunately, there is currently no triploid (sterile) dwarf Rose of Sharon.
Mike
This message was edited Sep 20, 2011 4:49 PM
I had forgotten that people have invasive issues with RoS.
I haven't had any problem, but that's probably because mine is 'Diane', which is sterile. ;)
Barb
