By its very nature, the beauty of the hibiscus flower lasts but a day… and while in bloom it is enchanting in its fragility.  Having said that, hibiscus are tough, vigorous, easy to grow and bloom in a rainbow of colours almost all year round.

Hibiscus has been in cultivation in the western world since the beginning of the 1600’s but they were admired much earlier than that in China where they adorned porcelain and tapestries from the 1300’s.

The very name Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, "Rose of China" hints at a Chinese origin and while that has not been confirmed to this day, on a recent trip to China, I saw this particular hibiscus in bloom everywhere we toured.   From that humble beginning with the first 5 petaled red, we now have almost 300 species and hundreds of hybrids to enjoy.  The blooms now are in many sizes ranging from tiny to dinner plate size and the colours are incredible but few if any have a fragrance.

The hibiscus plant itself has many uses, depending on where you live and the species.  In India and Jamaica the flowers are used to shine shoes and in hair preparations. In other countries they are used in paper making, while others are used as vegetables or food dye and in making herbal teas. The roots, leaves and flowers all have medicinal properties as well.  The flowers are edible not only by people but iguanas love them and will strip both flowers and leaves.

They are underused as trees and can be grafted – imagine one with different colours on it in your front garden.  What a show stopper that would be!

They enjoy slightly acidic soil and if you notice leaves turning yellow it may be a result of low acid soil, poorly draining soil, or soil too low in iron or magnesium.  Right now with the rainy season, be sure yours is planted in soil that drains well and think about giving it acid based fertilizer once a month.  They flower on the current year’s wood so don’t be too severe in pruning them.  They offer continuous bloom with flowers looking gorgeous against shiny dark leaves.

I include flowers from Malaysia, Grenada and Orlando here…I wish we had more variety in Panama and as of this writing, I have not found a society here either.  If you know of one, let me know!