Hibiscus Species

I bought this from my local arboretum, which specializes in finding rare specimens from Madagascar. They sold a couple of these, and I c...Read Morean't find their specimen in the arboretum. It seems to be extremely rare and not commonly cultivated.

It's not commonly cultivated likely because of its small red flowers that are much smaller than the flowers of more common hibiscus varieties. Whereas some hibiscus varieties can produce blooms the size of small plates, the flowers of this variety are closer to the size of thimbles. Compared to the other hibiscuses in my yard, it seems like a proto-hibiscus that seems to be more wild and less evolved.

It's growth habit is also much more narrow and tree-like than more common, bushy hibiscus plants. After 2 years, it is about 8 feet tall and 2 feet wide.

Its leaves did get attacked by aphids in the 1st year. It dropped its leaves but immediately sprouted new ones.

The leaves on the plant are strange. In the 1st year, it grew leaves with 5 prongs, and it still has a few of these at the bottom of the plant. After it got attacked by aphids, the shape of the new leaves more closely matches the shape of the other hibiscus plants in my yard.

Overall, it is a strange specimen that I enjoy having in the yard.