Sunday, August 16, 2009

Lord Baltimore Hibiscus


I have had this Lord Baltimore Rose Mallow Hibiscus for
several years now and it never ceases to amaze me when
it starts blooming. The bright red blooms are just huge!



Hibiscus Malvaceae moscheutos Lord Baltimore

The poor bush has been moved three times because
I have never been satisfied where I stick it. This spring
I moved it again to a spot at the corner of the garage
and I have promised it that I will not move it again.
I may have lied if it does not do well there ;-)




A herbaceous shrub that can grow from 4 feet to 6 feet
tall and 3 to 4 feet or more in width. It has blooms from 6
to 10 inches . My blooms in this old clay are still an impressive
7 inches.
It is not a pink either but a bright red.



On one of the limbs yesterday there was one bloom and
two buds. This morning the two buds had opened and
the previous bloom was spent.



It grows in zones from 5 to 9, in sun to partial shade.
It requires consistently moist soil, thus the reason she
has been moved so much around my yard, and should not
be allowed to dry out. It does better in full sun with rich soil
but it does pretty well in my clay soil.




Blooms from late summer to fall.
You can collect the seed pods and dry them and
then break the pods open to get the seeds.I have never
tried to grow any from seed but I think I will give it a try
this winter.


Propagation Methods Are:
From seed; direct sow outdoors in fall
From seed; stratify if sowing indoors
Direct sow as soon as the ground can be worked
From seed; sow indoors before last frost
From seed; direct sow after last frost
From seed; germinate in a damp paper towel
From seed; germinate in vitro in gelatin, agar or other medium
Scarify seed before sowing.

The bush is cut back in the fall to 3 to 4 inches.



Happy Gardening Everyone!




14 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have really captured all the beauty the hibiscus has to offer.
Donna

Anonymous said...

Lona~~ And it is slow to break dormancy in spring. Every year I think mine is dead until, like, late May. This might be due to the fact that I too have moved mine several times. Poor thing. It is not the easiest of plants to place, is it? After losing my first attempt, I realized that, as you said, they require copious quantities of water. With this in mind, my plant looks better than ever this year. Early on, I tip-pinched and it has bushed out nicely. Hopefully this will keep it from flopping. No blooms yet but it's early. ... I didn't know this about the seed collecting. Good information! I might try sowing the seed too. We'll have to compare notes.

Colleen Wms said...

Beautiful!!
Only this year have I really started noticing hibiscus and will probably have some by next year. I guess, since I'm originally from the Northeast, I always figured they were an annual.
Now I know better and am I a better place.

Sylvia said...

OH WOW...love the hibiscus, its so RED!!! Great pictures.
Sylvia

Tootsie said...

just gorgeous!!!!!

Lona said...

It is a beautiful hibiscus girls. It is also as Grace says slow to sprout out in late spring. Every year I forget and think I may have finally killed it ;-)
Thanks for the tip on pinching it back. Never even thought about that.
The first picture in the night shot is of Sweet peas. I just love the way they look against a dark background.
Happy Gardening!

lynn'sgarden said...

I thought my hibiscus was a goner since it was sooo slow to come back this year. It's finally blooming now, too! The captured these beautiful blooms perfectly, Lona!

Helen said...

Beautiful flower and the color is so pretty. Helen

Stephanie said...

This bright red hibiscus is so so gorgeous and attractive! You have made me thinking of hibiscus now. They have new varieties sold at the nurseries here that have big blooms yet small shrub. Have another wonderful day!

Darla said...

Collecting and sowing seeds from Hibiscus is a snap. You'll love the added color to your gardens. This hibiscus is beautiful.

Pat said...

The color reminds me of raspberry sherbert. Just love it !
I heard there are hibiscus for my zone 7a that have very large flowers.Sounds like yours stays put all winter. Maybe I can collect seeds from the common one HD got me...never thought to do that. Sure won't dig them up every year...end of summer I'm too poop out.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

It's so pretty, I love the color of the flowers. I have some plants that I keep moving and they don't get a chance to ever get established. Your hibiscus looks very happy, hope it gets to stay in it's new home.

Muum said...

That is so lovely! I have a darker red hibiscus, but yours is so beautiful.

sweetbay said...

Beautiful pictures of a beautiful hibiscus!

You asked about the Joe Pye Weed -- it will happily grow in clay soil, and like the hibiscus likes a lot of moisture.