Hibiscus: 5 Fast Facts | Van Putte Gardens (2024)

Hibiscus plants produce some of the most showy blossoms of summer, with their huge bursts of red, orange, pink and yellow. We love these flowersfor their huge size and vibrant color, but also as a pollinator-friendly plant— birds, butterflies and bees all love them!

Five Fast Facts About Hibiscus:

1. There areTWO types of hibiscus: tropical and hardy. Tropical hibiscusare the ones that look like the picture above — they come in red, pink, orange and yellow, have slightly smaller blossoms, and will not survive a Rochester winter outdoors, though you can overwinter them indoors if you have a sunny window. Hardy hibiscus are perennial for our area (which means they come back year after year) and come in red, pink and white. Plus, hardy hibiscus blooms are larger than tropical hibiscus – almost the size of a dinner plate!
2. Hibiscus NEED sun to blossom. Make sure your plants, whether tropical or hardy, are positioned to get at least 6 hours of sun per day in order to set buds and eventually blossom.
3. Hibiscus flowers can be made into tea, which is a good source of Vitamin C.
4. And the flowers last only a day or two. It’s hard to keep up on it, but try to remove spent flowers promptly to encourage more blooms throughout the summer season.
5. There are over 200 varieties of hibiscus worldwide!

Bonus: Tropical hibiscus can be trained into a variety of shapes, including “trees,” which we love as a Mother’s Day gift idea! We have them in stock now but they do sell out fast every year which isn’t surprising… who wouldn’t want this kind of coloron their deck all summer long?