How to Grow and Care for Hibiscus

Chinese hibiscus is a small flowering tree. Its fragrant flowers are well known the world over, leading to many cultivated variants. Chinese hibiscus is the national flower of Malaysia and is featured on Malaysian coins. Although the Latin name, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, means “the rose of China,” it is not related to true roses.

Hibiscus syriacus is a deciduous shrub with trumpet-shaped pink, lavender, or white flowers. Although it was first collected by Western botanists from Syrian gardens, “rose of sharon” is native to south-central and southeastern China. Because of its hardiness and prolific blooming, it is cultivated all around the world. It is the national flower of South Korea, mentioned in its national anthem.

Hibiscus moscheutos, colloquially known as swamp rose mallow, is a common ornamental plant. It is a vigorous, cold-hardy perennial that thrives in moist soils. Its showy white to pink flowers are often visited by pollinators. Swamp rose mallow is a larval host of various butterfly and moth species.

Spider hibiscus (Hibiscus schizopetalus) is a shrub that’s indigenous to eastern Africa. Other names for it include coral hibiscus, skeleton hibiscus, and fringed rosemallow. It’s often used ornamentally in tropical gardens. Many people think the hanging flowers look like Japanese lanterns, and, in fact, this is yet another name for them.

A unique feature of the confederate rose (Hibiscus mutabilis) is its color-changing flowers. This shrubby rose bush blooms starting as white in the morning, turn pink at midday, and end red by the end of the day. This is a common plant species and although it is native to Southeast China, it can now be found on every continent except Antarctica.