Perennial Flowering Bushes

While the doubles are tried and true, it seems the single-flowering varieties have captured the imagination of today’s gar-deners. The singles’ earlier bloom time gives them the benefit of the first “oohs and aahs” of the season. Older varieties include ‘Aphrodite,’ with its dark pink blooms with dark red eye zones; ‘Diana,’ a pure white, long-blooming selection; ‘Bluebird,’ a big sky-blue selection with red eyes; ‘Minerva,’ a dense grower with lavender-violet flowers sporting dark red eyes; and ‘Red Heart,’ with its big white flowers with bright red centers.

Today, a new generation of singles is moving into the territory of the established singles, with waves of flowers on plants that are denser, more vigorous and slightly longer blooming than the old-timers. Two unique singles, ‘Lavender Chiffon’ and ‘White Chiffon,’ break new ground with lavender or pure white flowers with lacy, anemone-like centers. ‘Blue Satin’ shows off royal-blue flowers with darker eyes on a plant that is far superior to ‘Bluebird’ for strength. ‘Blush Satin’ has huge pinkish-white flowers with prominent red centers, while ‘Violet Satin’ is a flowering maniac with huge, deeply colorful violet-red blooms.

If the shrub form of hibiscus makes you wait for its foliage to show up, the perennial form will have you on the edge of your seat, even into early June, wondering if it has made it through the winter. You can relax, though, since many varieties of perennial hibiscus are tougher than their shrubby relatives, with Zone 4 hardiness that can bring the tropics to even the northernmost garden. Just like in the tropics, they will bring flower size and color that, at times, is so astonishing that you can’t help but stare.

Most selections of perennial hibiscus belong to the species H. moscheutos or H. coccineus, both North American natives, or are crosses between these and other less prominent species. Most form dense, wide, rapidly growing bushes in the garden. They love hot sun, heat and moist soil, although they adapt well to drier ground. When they begin to bloom in mid-July, they instantly dominate the garden with their flower size and color and continue to do so into mid-September. Be sure to place perennial hibiscus at the back of the garden and give them some room, because their size will tend to overwhelm any plant in the vicinity.

Perennial Flowering Bushes

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