Tagged With: Hibiscus

Hardy Hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos)

Hardy Hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos)

Hardy Hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos)

Hardy Hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos)

We’ve been wanting to have one of these for a while and last year Cathy finally got one and planted it in the back garden. We’ve only had a few flowers this year and they only last a day, but today I managed to get some pictures of one. Hopefully as it gets better established we’ll have more flowers over the course of the summer. This is related to the rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus), which we’ve had growing for a while, as well as the tropical hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) which has to be brought in for the winter. The flowers on the hardy hibiscus are larger than on either of the other two and quite striking, even from all the way across the yard. Definitely a good choice for the back of the garden.

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Rose of Sharon

Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus syriacus

Rose of Sharon Hibiscus syriacus

When Dorothy was born and we gave her the middle name Rose, a friend gave us a small Rose of Sharon plant. We had that in a container until we moved to our current house and then Cathy planted it in the garden along the south end of our back yard. It has flourished and indeed it is something of a constant chore to pull up the seedlings that appear around the yard, but I will confess that I like the flowers on this large shrub or small tree. They appear over a long period, from early summer well into fall. The Latin name for the plant, Hibiscus syriacus, implies that it comes from Syria, but that appears to be false, being a native of eastern Asia instead.

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Seed Pods, Hardy Hibiscus

Hibiscus moscheutos Seed Pods

Hibiscus moscheutos Seed Pods

I stopped at Meadowside Nature Center on the way home today and walked down to the pond on the Pioneer Trail. There were a pair of geese on the pond and they paddled away from me as I approached. I got some pictures of these seed pods and wasn’t sure what they were. I’m pretty sure they belong to a hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos sometimes called swamp rose mallow). They are lovely, I think. They look a lot like the seed pods on crape myrtle except they are on non-woody stems and are much larger. I walked up to another small catchment pond and startled a pair of mallards who flew off to the larger pond as I approached. It’s supposed to get cold tonight and tomorrow night but spring is pretty much around the corner, with forecasts of temperatures greater than 70°F for Monday.

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