Hibiscus, Blue Hibiscus 'Santa Cruz'

Per San Marcos Growers:
"Alyogyne huegelii 'Santa Cruz' (Blue Hibiscus) - An evergreen shrub that grows to about 6-10 feet tall an...Read Mored 6-8 feet wide. The flowers are borne solitarily in leaf axils and hold large light blue petals. This is a hardy and adaptable shrub, which is lime, drought and frost tolerant. It requires a well-drained soil, but can be grown in sand, loam or clay soils. It can be grown in full sun, or in partial shade. Protection from strong winds is desirable. Little watering is required, especially if the plants are established and well mulched. Once established supplementary watering should be required only during extremely dry condition, but is tolerated provided the plants are in a well-drained position. Cold hardy to 25° F. If unpruned Alyogyne huegelii becomes a little sparse of foliage on lower branches. It can be pruned back quite hard after flowering with new shoots initiating from old wood, or tipped back frequently and lightly during the flowering season. Pruning results in a denser, more compact, and possibly more floriferous plant. This plant was one of many that were selected at the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum from material imported by the late Ray Collett. The species is native to South Australia and Western Australia. The generic name is derived from the Greek 'alytos' - "united" or "undivided" and 'gyne' - " woman" or "female", and is said to be a reference to the unbranched style. The specific epithet given this plant by the Austrian botanist Stephan Endlicher honors Charles von Hügel, the Baron von Huegel (1795-1870) an Austrian army officer, diplomat, botanist and explorer who botanized Western Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales from 1833 to 1834 and returned to Vienna with a collection of plants later to be described by Endlicher."
[HYPERLINK@www.smgrowers.com]

To people fortunate enough to. live in the right climate, this must be one of the most beautiful shrubs there is.

I grew i...Read Moret as a tub plant and brought it in during the winter, and then tried leaving it out - to see how hardy it was. It survived -4C one year and the next year - 6C killed the top growth, but it resprouted. Later a frost of -7C killed the whole plant.

I have tried many times to strike cuttings but have so far failed - with its drought-resistant indented leaves it looks as if should be easy.

The climate in the U.K. is too dull for it to flower well, and it grows tall and straggly, but pictures on the internet show it as a wide well-shaped plant covered in flowers off and on throughout the year.

Alyogyne huegelii 'Santa Cruz' (Blue Hibiscus) - Native to south and western Australia. This evergreen shrub grows to about 6-10 feet tal...Read Morel and 6-8 feet wide. The flowers are borne solitarily in leaf axils and hold large light blue petals.

This is a hardy and adaptable shrub, which is lime, drought and frost tolerant. It requires a well drained soil, but can be grown in sand, loam or clay soils. It can be grown in full sun, or in partial shade. Protection from strong winds is desirable. Little watering is required, especially if the plants are well mulched. Once established supplementary watering should be required only during extremely dry condition, but is tolerated provided the plants are in a well-drained position.

If unpruned Alyogyne huegelii becomes a little sparse of foliage on lower branches, and may also become straggly. It can be pruned back quite hard after flowering, or frequently and lightly during the flowering season. Pruning results in a denser, more compact, and possibly more floriferous plant. It will throw out vigorous fast-growing shoots from old wood, thus enabling it to be kept down to a small compact shrub if desired.

Cold hardy to 25-30° F.