Hibiscus syriacus
Hibiscus flowers are associated with subtropical and tropical islands with their large and colourful flowers.
However there is a wonderful collection of hardy hibiscus flowering shrubs which make a fine show in late summer through to the first frosts of winter and these should be grown a lot more in gardens. They are tough and hardy.
Known as the Rose of Sharon (USA), Syrian Ketmie or Rose Mallow (UK), St Joseph’s Rod (Italy) it shows that common names can be confusing to people.
In Korea, where it is the National Flower, it is called Korean Rose and its Korean name mugunghwa means ‘eternity’ or ‘inexhaustible abundance’. Here the leaves are used to brew a herbal tea and the flowers are eaten.
This brings us to its botanical name Hibiscus syriacus. Hibiscus was a name used by Diocorides for marsh mallow plants. Linnaeus who is the father of world botanical names gave it the specific name of H. syricaus mistakenly thinking that it was a native of Syria. While it has naturalised and is widely grown there it has never been found in the wild instead it has been confirmed that it is native of much of Asia where it has also been cultivated in gardens for many centuries.
Hibiscus syriacus is a very hardy, deciduous and easily grown plant and great for colder climates. In spring it comes into growth a little later than other plants and then rapidly produces new stems which produces masses of flowers in late summer and all of autumn until the first frosts.
Generally it is a nicely shaped, multi branched, upright growing shrub up to about 2 m tall, but it has been recorded occasionally up to 6 m tall if left unattended for decades. The wood is quite soft and easily pruned.
Leaves are triangular (3 lobed) rounded dark green leaves, bluntly toothed on the edges and about 75mm long. Sometimes they look a little starved of nutrition so a good mulch and a little general fertiliser is good for them.
The beautiful flowers are either single or doubles produced in late summer and autumn near the end of the newly grown stems. Single flowers are open and bell shaped up to 75 mm across with the typical Hibiscus pistil and anthers very showy. To flower well they need they are best planted in full sun.
Double flowers have many compact petals in the centre obscuring the typical pistil and stamen in the centre. It does not have so much of a typical bell shape but a shorter flatter bell and a wider opening.
Flower colour varies from white through to purple and every mix of those colours you can find. There have been recorded over 345 cultivars (Hibiscus syriacus A List of Cultivars in Collections and Print January 27, 1999 Last changed February 25, 2000. http://members.tripod.com/~h_syriacus/cultivar_list.htm accessed 20 February 2017). With so many cultivars clear identification is often difficult. Fortunately in NZ there are not that many and most have been documented in catalogues etc.
They are popular in Europe (and have been for over 400 years) and were quite popular in NZ many years ago. There is currently a steady stream available through some nurseries. They deserve a place in the garden because of their late and prolific flowering.
Care is simple as they are tolerant of most garden soils and there does not seem to be a problem with pests and diseases.
The main work is a once a year prune in late winter early spring to reshape the bush and encourage new growth from the bottom. The soft wood is easily pruned. If necessary to rejuvenate the plant a very hard pruning down to about 400mm can be undertaken.
They can be transplanted around the garden as well but if doing so prune quite hard leaving about 40% of the stems.
It is also easy to propagate from hardwood cutting taken in winter or from seed or layering.
To see a wide range of flower colour and forms visit this Pinterest page Hibiscus syricacus.
However there is a wonderful collection of hardy hibiscus flowering shrubs which make a fine show in late summer through to the first frosts of winter and these should be grown a lot more in gardens. They are tough and hardy.
Known as the Rose of Sharon (USA), Syrian Ketmie or Rose Mallow (UK), St Joseph’s Rod (Italy) it shows that common names can be confusing to people.
In Korea, where it is the National Flower, it is called Korean Rose and its Korean name mugunghwa means ‘eternity’ or ‘inexhaustible abundance’. Here the leaves are used to brew a herbal tea and the flowers are eaten.
This brings us to its botanical name Hibiscus syriacus. Hibiscus was a name used by Diocorides for marsh mallow plants. Linnaeus who is the father of world botanical names gave it the specific name of H. syricaus mistakenly thinking that it was a native of Syria. While it has naturalised and is widely grown there it has never been found in the wild instead it has been confirmed that it is native of much of Asia where it has also been cultivated in gardens for many centuries.
Hibiscus syriacus is a very hardy, deciduous and easily grown plant and great for colder climates. In spring it comes into growth a little later than other plants and then rapidly produces new stems which produces masses of flowers in late summer and all of autumn until the first frosts.
Generally it is a nicely shaped, multi branched, upright growing shrub up to about 2 m tall, but it has been recorded occasionally up to 6 m tall if left unattended for decades. The wood is quite soft and easily pruned.
Leaves are triangular (3 lobed) rounded dark green leaves, bluntly toothed on the edges and about 75mm long. Sometimes they look a little starved of nutrition so a good mulch and a little general fertiliser is good for them.
The beautiful flowers are either single or doubles produced in late summer and autumn near the end of the newly grown stems. Single flowers are open and bell shaped up to 75 mm across with the typical Hibiscus pistil and anthers very showy. To flower well they need they are best planted in full sun.
Double flowers have many compact petals in the centre obscuring the typical pistil and stamen in the centre. It does not have so much of a typical bell shape but a shorter flatter bell and a wider opening.
Flower colour varies from white through to purple and every mix of those colours you can find. There have been recorded over 345 cultivars (Hibiscus syriacus A List of Cultivars in Collections and Print January 27, 1999 Last changed February 25, 2000. http://members.tripod.com/~h_syriacus/cultivar_list.htm accessed 20 February 2017). With so many cultivars clear identification is often difficult. Fortunately in NZ there are not that many and most have been documented in catalogues etc.
They are popular in Europe (and have been for over 400 years) and were quite popular in NZ many years ago. There is currently a steady stream available through some nurseries. They deserve a place in the garden because of their late and prolific flowering.
Care is simple as they are tolerant of most garden soils and there does not seem to be a problem with pests and diseases.
The main work is a once a year prune in late winter early spring to reshape the bush and encourage new growth from the bottom. The soft wood is easily pruned. If necessary to rejuvenate the plant a very hard pruning down to about 400mm can be undertaken.
They can be transplanted around the garden as well but if doing so prune quite hard leaving about 40% of the stems.
It is also easy to propagate from hardwood cutting taken in winter or from seed or layering.
To see a wide range of flower colour and forms visit this Pinterest page Hibiscus syricacus.