MY hibiscus!!!

[Yvonne G]

As I was going around closing up the tortoises for the night I beheld this BEAUTIFUL sight!!! I bought it last summer because it was said to be a "hardy" hibiscus and would die back with the frost, but come back again in the spring. I'm showing you my hand for a size comparison. That bloom is HUGE!

Yvonne

 

[Crazy1]

Yvonne, that flower is huge, and beautiful

 

[jlyoncc1]

Very, very pretty!!!

 

[Isa]

Wow, amazing pictures. The flower is beautiful and has a very nice color.

 

[Laura]

Ok,, im going to have to plant some!!! Are Hibiscus the same as Rose of Sharon? Is one heartier than the other? Heat tolerant? Ive never planted them here because I thought they were more of a tropical cooler wetter type plant.. How much sun can they tolerate?

 

[Yvonne G]

Ok,, im going to have to plant some!!! Are Hibiscus the same as Rose of Sharon? Is one heartier than the other? Heat tolerant? Ive never planted them here because I thought they were more of a tropical cooler wetter type plant.. How much sun can they tolerate?

Hibiscus and Rose of Sharon are in the same family, but not the same plant. You can grow them in Sacramento, but you have to keep them watered pretty good. Mine is right out in the sun. There are two kinds of hibiscus...tropical and hardy. The tropical would do ok for only one year then the frost would kill the whole plant unless you keep them in pots and move them in for the winter. The hardy varieties will do fine in the ground. The plant will freeze, but the roots don't die. Rose of sharon would do just fine in Sacramento. They lose their leaves and go dormant in the winter. I have about 6 rose of sharon trees in my "rain forest" for the Burmese tortoises. They are about 10 years old, 15' high and doing very well here in the hot Central Valley Calif. sun.

Yvonne

 

[Jacqui]

If you do go with the hardy variety, just don't get impatient in the spring. They are slow coming back up and it's easy to start thinking they failed to survive the winter.

 

[Redfoot NERD]

Beautiful bloom Yvonne!

I had a couple 'Perennial' [ aka Hardy ] Hibiscus last year that had those HUGE red blooms. The plant grows big around like a bush.. but not real tall! Robyn would have liked those 'hardy'..

I "traded" them in on Rose of Sharon [ also Perennial.. good to -20F ]
And grow to be trees like Yvonne said.

I did save one 'hardy' and transplanted it outside the 'tort enclosure'.. a BIG white one.. no buds as of yet.. but the plant is getting there.

I've found in the climate where it does freeze.. the plant "dies back" during winter.. like Jacqui said. After the "last frost" in the spring.. "prune" the plant to the ground! Don't worry it will be alright. In fact the closer you prune the bigger the plant will grow. And it does take a long time for it to do anything...... but once it catches on.. you can see the growth everyday!!! And eventually with a dozen or more HUGE blooms for a couple of months!

I like that color bloom of yours better than the red Yvonne.

Terry K

 

[Yvonne G]

Terry: I'd love to come see all your plants. The pictures you post are gorgous! I'll bet you live in a tropical paradise!

Yvonne

 

[drgnfly2265]

Holy cow, that is a huge flower!!!

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1 Sulcata (Bowser)

www.myspace.com/bowsertortoise

 

[jasso2]

oh my god! just found out i have 3 big hibiscus plants in my back yard....have some to my tortoises and they went wild!!!!!!!! like pigs!!!!!!!!!