Hibiscus – A Favorite Pretty Face in the Florida Garden

Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family Mulvaceae and is well suited to subtropical and tropical regions. Tropical hibiscus originated in Asia and the Pacific Islands and is the national flower of Malaysia and the State Flower of Hawaii.

What’s a South Florida yard without hibiscus? Hibiscus plants are widely used in landscaping in Southwest Florida as hedges, screens, single plantings, mixed with other plants or placed in large ceramic pots as an accent or a focal foliage inside your lanai. Plant the hibiscus where you can best enjoy their blooms – by a walkway or an entryway or as an anchor for a garden bed. 

Hibiscus produces beautiful flowers that lasts for a day or two, blooming in the early morning but starting to wilt by late afternoon. But the next day another bloom appears! Some gardeners pinch off the spent flowers to encourage new growth.

What color is your hibiscus? The best part of planting hibiscus is the showy rainbow of flower colors and sizes, making it one of the most popular landscape shrubs. So many varieties to choose from: vibrant and eye-catching colors in purple, pinks, yellows, white, orange, reds with ruffled or single petals – the choice seems endless.

The flowers are trumpet-like in shape and come in different sizes, some as large as dinner plates; with double blooms, multi-layers – all very showy and exotic – and the more exotic it looks, the more desirable they are to the gardener. There is nothing plain vanilla about hibiscus blooms in the garden.

For this article, these are tropical hibiscus, easily found in local nurseries. You can find them as bush varieties or trained to tree-form and there is also the weeping hibiscus small flowering tree.

Hibiscus plants are moderately salt tolerant and they do best in full sun - you’ll find more blooms if the plant is in full sun. It is low maintenance, but if your hibiscus is a little out of control, you can stagger your trimmings a few weeks apart as this will keep the flowering cycle. But if you have to do a hard prune, it is suggested to do it in the late March to early April time period. 

There are over 200 different beautiful flowering species of hibiscus, and in South Florida you can plant them year-round. Here are some varieties to add to your collection:

Double Peach features bold peach round flowers and blooms year-round. Use as accent, container or mass planting.

Yellow Hula Girl is a bush with a profusion of rich yellow, single blooms, each with a touch of bright red in its throat. It is very showy and very versatile either as a background or a hedge, but it is best to hand prune the hedge to enjoy the year-round bloom.

Fiesta produces bold orange round flowers with gold overtones, red eyes, and looks stunning as an accent container plant.

Pink Seminole is a staple in most landscapes. It has a single pink flower with a red center and bright yellow antlers.

Painted Lady is another staple in the landscape with large rosy-pink blossoms with dark red throats. It is commonly used as a hedge or screens.

Double Reds are spectacular and bloom all summer. They are a great addition to your hibiscus collection.

Yellow Hibiscus is a favorite with its showy large yellow flowers. They add a burst of color when nothing else is blooming and are ideal along fences or borders.

Reasons for non-gardener to try a hibiscus plant:

1. You can’t resist their amazing blooms.

2. They're so easy to grow! Just keep them watered, sit back and enjoy.

3. Hibiscus love the heat. Few plants enjoy the heat more than the hibiscus. 

4. There's a color for everyone - just pick your favorite!

5. Hibiscus grow well in pots. They are perfect for condo porches or balconies and they attract the gulf fritillary butterfly!