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Hibiscus 'Summer Carnival' has a dark magenta flower with a dark red eye. It grows 4-4.5 ft tall and 5-5.5 ft wide. The flowers can reach 7 inches in diameter on mature plants, which have green leaves that are deeply lobed and edged with white. The white variegation is intermittently tinged with pink. Introduced by Walters Gardens in 2022. This is a named clone that cannot be grown from seed. The plants I sell of it are all grown from tissue culture. This is a patented cultivar, Plant Patent 31587. The flower photo is courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.
You are purchasing a healthy, fully established, hardy hibiscus plant (H. moscheutos) in a 4.5" pot. This is a plant that is large enough to produce quality blooms this summer. These plants are currently 18-22 inches tall but growing very fast as they have large root systems; most were over 3 ft tall last year. These plants have big food reserves in their roots that are driving their growth, unlike the weak greenhouse transplants that other vendors sell. When the plants become tall I use special long cartons, in order to avoid trimming the plants (and your chances for blooms this year). All of my hardy hibiscus plants have been overwintered here in Iowa. This is important for you to know because young plants (especially those from tissue culture) sometimes do not grow the following season. If they sprout and grow during the second growing season, they will not have any problems in subsequent seasons. Some growers are selling plants that have not yet gone through a dormancy period, and some are producing these plants from cuttings and selling them for less. Although plants grown from cuttings will grow very well their first year, cuttings lack the juvenile status of a plant from tissue culture or from seed, so they do not have any renewal buds and therefore cannot grow the following year.
This is a hardy hibiscus in USDA Zones 4-8 (search the internet for "USDA Hardiness Zone Map"). In Zones 9-11, these plants should be grown as annuals, for they usually do not receive a sufficient amount of time in cold dormancy in the winter to survive there. Hardy hibiscus are fast growers and quick to bloom, so that growing them as annuals in the extended growing season of Zones 9-11 can be very rewarding if the plants are planted early in the season. Hardy hibiscus are herbaceous perennials that always die to the ground every fall, regardless of the climate. Their stems are not woody and they are not shrubs. They are much slower to start growth than virtually all other perennials--because they need hot weather to grow. It is an excellent idea to make a permanent label for your hibiscus. You can also plant a summer-dormant perennial that needs cool weather, such as an Oriental poppy, a few inches to the side of it, so that you will be less likely to accidentally damage the hibiscus while it is dormant. The Oriental poppy will fill the void early each spring and will go summer-dormant soon after hot weather arrives, just as the hibiscus is starting to grow again. Once hot weather arrives, these hibiscus grow very fast. Mature plants of the taller cultivars will grow from zero to over six feet tall in two months. The flowering period extends from mid-summer through fall and the highest quality flowers are produced when temperatures are warm or hot and when the plants have ample moisture. Hardy hibiscus are very easy to grow. Be sure to give them room to grow, as these are big plants. Keep them watered and plant them in a location that receives at least six hours of sun each day (they will grow and flower with less sun but the stems will be weaker and there will be fewer flowers). They do not need fertilizer when grown in most soils.
If you are in USDA Zones 4 or 5, I strongly recommend planting these hibiscus so that two to three inches of soil is over the rootball. Such deep planting would kill most perennials, but not these hardy hibiscus. This is because they are native to swampy areas--their roots do not need as much aeration as those of most other plants. The plants might emerge a little more slowly in the spring, but this deep planting will help protect the dormant renewal buds of the crown during the winter. Before planting please remember that hibiscus need heat to grow, and that above-ground portions of the plant are sensitive to cold temperatures. Do not plant hardy hibiscus that are in active growth until the weather is consistently warm outdoors (above 45ºF at night) and the soil has warmed. Instead, keep them indoors in a sunny window until they can go outside.
Some merchants are selling seeds or seedlings of the named clones as if they were equivalent to the cloned plants, but of course they are not--not even close. The named clones have been selected from thousands upon thousands of seedlings and are of superior quality. These named clones are propagated through tissue culture, a very expensive and complicated process that assures that each resulting plant is identical to the original. I purchase these clones from the tissue-culture laboratories and grow them for a full year before offering them to you. Any seeds of these clones would be no match (just as your children are no match for you!), even if the parent plants were laboriously self-pollinated by hand in a location isolated from natural pollinators. Some of the named clones are sterile and therefore cannot even produce seed (such as 'Lord Baltimore'), yet vendors can be found selling "their" seed. Although most of the hardy hibiscus cultivars I offer are clones from tissue culture, I offer a few dwarf cultivars that are grown from seed because they represent something that is not yet available from tissue culture.
Please contact me if you have any questions about this listing. Please check out my other listings! Your satisfaction is important to me. If you are not happy with your purchase(s), please email me immediately. I guarantee that the plants will be in good condition up to 48 hours after the first attempted delivery to the location specified on the package. All damage claims must be submitted during this time. The occasional broken leaf or branch is expected, and is not considered significant damage. My plants are grown in a licensed, state-inspected nursery. Shipment to U.S.A. destinations only (any location with a Zip Code and delivery by USPS). I block foreign bids and purchases but I can unblock international buyers if delivery is to a U.S.A. destination.
Thanks for looking!
Hibiscus 'Summer Carnival' has a dark magenta flower with a dark red eye. It grows 4-4.5 ft tall and 5-5.5 ft wide. The flowers can reach 7 inches in diameter on mature plants, which have green leaves that are deeply lobed and edged with white. The white variegation is intermittently tinged with pink. Introduced by Walters Gardens in 2022. This is a named clone that cannot be grown from seed. The plants I sell of it are all grown from tissue culture. This is a patented cultivar, Plant Patent 31587. The flower photo is courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.
You are purchasing a healthy, fully established, hardy hibiscus plant (H. moscheutos) in a 4.5" pot. This is a plant that is large enough to produce quality blooms this summer. These plants are currently 18-22 inches tall but growing very fast as they have large root systems; most were over 3 ft tall last year. These plants have big food reserves in their roots that are driving their growth, unlike the weak greenhouse transplants that other vendors sell. When the plants become tall I use special long cartons, in order to avoid trimming the plants (and your chances for blooms this year). All of my hardy hibiscus plants have been overwintered here in Iowa. This is important for you to know because young plants (especially those from tissue culture) sometimes do not grow the following season. If they sprout and grow during the second growing season, they will not have any problems in subsequent seasons. Some growers are selling plants that have not yet gone through a dormancy period, and some are producing these plants from cuttings and selling them for less. Although plants grown from cuttings will grow very well their first year, cuttings lack the juvenile status of a plant from tissue culture or from seed, so they do not have any renewal buds and therefore cannot grow the following year.
This is a hardy hibiscus in USDA Zones 4-8 (search the internet for "USDA Hardiness Zone Map"). In Zones 9-11, these plants should be grown as annuals, for they usually do not receive a sufficient amount of time in cold dormancy in the winter to survive there. Hardy hibiscus are fast growers and quick to bloom, so that growing them as annuals in the extended growing season of Zones 9-11 can be very rewarding if the plants are planted early in the season. Hardy hibiscus are herbaceous perennials that always die to the ground every fall, regardless of the climate. Their stems are not woody and they are not shrubs. They are much slower to start growth than virtually all other perennials--because they need hot weather to grow. It is an excellent idea to make a permanent label for your hibiscus. You can also plant a summer-dormant perennial that needs cool weather, such as an Oriental poppy, a few inches to the side of it, so that you will be less likely to accidentally damage the hibiscus while it is dormant. The Oriental poppy will fill the void early each spring and will go summer-dormant soon after hot weather arrives, just as the hibiscus is starting to grow again. Once hot weather arrives, these hibiscus grow very fast. Mature plants of the taller cultivars will grow from zero to over six feet tall in two months. The flowering period extends from mid-summer through fall and the highest quality flowers are produced when temperatures are warm or hot and when the plants have ample moisture. Hardy hibiscus are very easy to grow. Be sure to give them room to grow, as these are big plants. Keep them watered and plant them in a location that receives at least six hours of sun each day (they will grow and flower with less sun but the stems will be weaker and there will be fewer flowers). They do not need fertilizer when grown in most soils.
If you are in USDA Zones 4 or 5, I strongly recommend planting these hibiscus so that two to three inches of soil is over the rootball. Such deep planting would kill most perennials, but not these hardy hibiscus. This is because they are native to swampy areas--their roots do not need as much aeration as those of most other plants. The plants might emerge a little more slowly in the spring, but this deep planting will help protect the dormant renewal buds of the crown during the winter. Before planting please remember that hibiscus need heat to grow, and that above-ground portions of the plant are sensitive to cold temperatures. Do not plant hardy hibiscus that are in active growth until the weather is consistently warm outdoors (above 45ºF at night) and the soil has warmed. Instead, keep them indoors in a sunny window until they can go outside.
Some merchants are selling seeds or seedlings of the named clones as if they were equivalent to the cloned plants, but of course they are not--not even close. The named clones have been selected from thousands upon thousands of seedlings and are of superior quality. These named clones are propagated through tissue culture, a very expensive and complicated process that assures that each resulting plant is identical to the original. I purchase these clones from the tissue-culture laboratories and grow them for a full year before offering them to you. Any seeds of these clones would be no match (just as your children are no match for you!), even if the parent plants were laboriously self-pollinated by hand in a location isolated from natural pollinators. Some of the named clones are sterile and therefore cannot even produce seed (such as 'Lord Baltimore'), yet vendors can be found selling "their" seed. Although most of the hardy hibiscus cultivars I offer are clones from tissue culture, I offer a few dwarf cultivars that are grown from seed because they represent something that is not yet available from tissue culture.
Please contact me if you have any questions about this listing. Please check out my other listings! Your satisfaction is important to me. If you are not happy with your purchase(s), please email me immediately. I guarantee that the plants will be in good condition up to 48 hours after the first attempted delivery to the location specified on the package. All damage claims must be submitted during this time. The occasional broken leaf or branch is expected, and is not considered significant damage. My plants are grown in a licensed, state-inspected nursery. Shipment to U.S.A. destinations only (any location with a Zip Code and delivery by USPS). I block foreign bids and purchases but I can unblock international buyers if delivery is to a U.S.A. destination.
Thanks for looking!