Hibiscus

Hibiscus Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Common names: Hibiscus, tropical hibiscus, Hawaiian hibiscus, Rose of China, shoe flower (Jamaicans reportedly use the flowers to polish shoes) Size at maturity: up to 30 feet tall in the tropics, but usually 8-15 feet tall x 5-10 feet wide Description: rounded evergreen shrub with showy and continuous summer flowers (4-8 inches wide) that last only one day, and glossy foliage. Flower colors are white to red with some blends. Cultivars available with single, semi-double and double flowers, most having single blooms with 5 petals and long (4 inch) stamens. Growing conditions: requires excellent drainage, full sun, regular water. Tender. Function: flowering shrub, specimen, container plant, and greenhouse plant. It is also great for a houseplant in a large container that can spend warmer months outside.

Some of the variety of colors of the beautiful hibiscus flowers...

Hibiscus Tropical Hibiscus is Queen of the Tropics The largest group of plants in the Malvaceae (mallow) family is the genus Hibiscus. Hibiscus plants are known for their large, showy flowers with deep-colored bases. The plants range from low, spreading forms to upright varieties reaching 20 feet in height. Some are compact and dense while others are open and thin. The flowers can vary in size from blossoms two inches in diameter up to 12 inches, with colors ranging from white to purple. The flowers of most varieties last only a day, with the blossoms opening early in the morning and wilting by late afternoon; however, the flowers of a few varieties remain open for two days. Most hibiscuses are odorless, but some of the basic varieties have a modest fragrance.

Hibiscus Old Salts will probably already know this fact; "In the South Sea Islands a hibiscus flower worn behind the left ear signifies 'I desire a lover'; behind the right ear 'I have a lover' and behind both ears 'I have one lover, but desire another'". An article first published in National Geographic October 1962, p.581

Too Many Secrets Other stories to enjoy

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Hibiscus was a favorite flowering plant in the old Canal Zone... It was often used as an ornamental plant around the tropical quarters...Hibiscuses are used in the landscape as informal hedges or screens, background or foundation plants, usually in a mass planting of a single variety... Selected varieties, called "standards," may be trained to grow with a single trunk and are often used as attractive specimen plants for patios, terraces, and flower gardens. Single blooms typically have five petals, five stigma pads, a five-cell ovary, five teeth on the calyx, and five to ten bracts... The full and crested double blooms are identical but have more than five petals...So, why do some people love flowers? Now there are many answers but for me I love this response... "Flowers speak to us when we know how to listen to them--it is a subtle and fragrant language." (The Mother)...