{"id":16061,"date":"2026-07-27T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=16061"},"modified":"2026-07-07T20:36:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T00:36:17","slug":"happy-summerific-hibiscus-week-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2026\/07\/27\/happy-summerific-hibiscus-week-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Summerific\u2122 Hibiscus Week 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Hibiscus (‘Cookies and Cream’) – low compact grower (Walters Gardens (WG) photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos<\/em>) is a truly versatile perennial. Hardy from Minnesota to Florida (USDA hardiness zones 4-9), rose mallow bears some of the largest flowers compared to most other perennials. Blooms of some cultivars measure a huge 7-9 inches across. In addition, dwarf compact growing types are being developed that make perfect fits in containers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summerific\u00ae Hibiscus from Walters Gardens, Inc. produce varieties that bloom up and down the stems, not just at the top. Flowers last three times longer and produce 3 times the number of buds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hibiscus ‘Cherry Choco Latta’ – (WG Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Four Growing Tips:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First<\/strong> – give clumps room to grow. Tall varieties grow 4-6 feet tall and wide and dwarf varieties are planted at least 3 feet apart. Do not crowd them next to other perennials for space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second<\/strong> – water, water and more water is key to successfully growing rose mallow. Plant on a site that is nearby a hose or sprinklers. Whether your soil consists of clay, sand or something in between, do not let the plant wilt and dry out. You\u2019ll know it is not getting enough water if it becomes scraggly looking and drops its lower leaves and flower buds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third<\/strong> – plant them where the sun shines the most, if not, all day long. Rose mallow loves hot, humid, sunny weather, and foliage and flower colors look best in full sun. You\u2019ll have more flowers too. If your garden spot is in partial shade (less than 4 hours of sun), expect fewer flowers; varieties with purple foliage will appear more greenish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fourth<\/strong> – Mark the garden spot where you planted them. Use a weather-proof 4-season marker. Why<\/span>: rose mallows are late rising perennials. When other garden perennials are showing signs of life in early spring, rose mallows are still fast asleep. Shoots emerge often in early to mid-May, grow rapidly, and start blooming in July and August, depending on variety and garden zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In spring, before you see the new foliage appears, prune or lop off the old woody stems to the ground. New spring growth emerges from the stubble of last year’s plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In spring apply a balanced slow-release plant food such as Osmocote\u2122 around the plant base to nourish it for several weeks. Water-soluble plant fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro\u00ae or Miracid\u00ae in early summer just as its flower buds are beginning to form to help the plant have energy to produce lots of flowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hibiscus ‘Holy Grail’ (WG photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Final tip<\/strong> is to label the cultivar, save the label as new varieties appear at garden centers every year. Expect that your garden collection will grow. Disease and pest problems are minimal. Be watchful for hibiscus sawflies and Japanese beetles. Deer may nibble on new shoots, but once established, deer browsing becomes less of a concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent Releases In the Summerific\u00ae Hibiscus series:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Holy Grail’ – 8-9-inch-deep red flowers; bright green center calyces; compact 4.0 to 4.5 feet tall and 4.5 to 5.0 feet wide with near black foliage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Cherry Choco Latta’ – 8\u20139-inch-wide white flowers with deep pink veining & large red eye; compact 3.5 x 3.5 feet tall and wide; dark olive-green foliage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Cookies and Cream’ – 6-7-inch-wide pure white flowers (incl. eye); compact 2.5 -3.0 feet tall to 3.5 – 4.0 feet wide with matte black foliage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Garnet Globes’ – 7-inch-wide dark garnet red flowers; compact 3 feet tall and wide with dark olive-green foliage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Evening Rose’ – 8-inch-wide puckered magenta flowers with green calyces; near black foliage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘Evening Rose’ (Hugh Conlon photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) is a truly versatile perennial. Hardy from Minnesota to Florida (USDA hardiness zones 4-9), rose mallow bears some of the largest flowers compared to most other perennials. Blooms of some cultivars measure a huge 7-9 inches across. In addition, dwarf compact growing types are being developed that make perfect fits in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[444,1319,749,1037,1498,778,674,645,665,764,763,329,853,1632,551,627,1476,625,843,1060,729,777,630,706,646,113,455],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16061"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16061"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16073,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16061\/revisions\/16073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}