Hardy Hibiscus, Rose Mallow, Swamp Mallow 'Lady Baltimore'

I live in New Braunfels, TX and the 'Lady" is planted on the west side of our brick house where she gets full, hot, Texas sun all afterno...Read Moreon long. She is on drip irrigation and heavily mulched. The plant will be late to come up in the spring. Every year it gets bigger and the stalks taller. I now have 7 stalks with multiple flowers on each one. Lady Baltimore has taken Best of Show for cut flowers at the Comal County Fair in two different years. I cut the largest bud, enter it just at closing time, (6 pm) and by the time the judges come to look and vote, the bud is open. Easily 7 to 8 inches across. A real show-stopper. We are Zone 8a/8b for cold and Zone 9 for heat.

A superb perennial, and my favorite hardy herbaceous hibiscus. The flowers look tropical, even more than those of the other hardy hibiscu...Read Mores hybrids. I also like that it's taller than most of the recent generation of hybrids, which were bred with 18" retail shelving in mind.

The deeply cut leaves give its foliage a finer texture than most of the hardy hibiscus, which tend to be coarse. They also allow more light through, which helps keep it from smothering its neighbors in a border or bed.

Like all herbaceous hibiscus, this is very late to emerge from dormancy in spring. This is an opportunity to underplant it with spring bulbs or ephemerals. In the fall, I leave 6" stubs on the stems to help me remember where the plant is in the spring.

In Z6, I find that spring planting helps increase its chances of getting through its first winter. Though it is taprooted, I've been able to transplant it in early spring before it emerges from dormancy.

This is a hybrid descended from at least four herbaceous species native to the southeastern US, and not a cultivar of H. moscheutos. It does not come true from seed.

When I first bought this plant, it seemed to die off quickly, and I had no idea why. The next season, it came back and bloomed, which was...Read More a welcome surprise. Here in Florida, these seem to have a very short growing and blooming season, and they don't seem to spread much. Because of their short blooming season, I would only recommend these in mixed plantings here.

Beautiful blooms, a spectacular plant indeed! I bought a Lady Baltimore last year and it looks lovely in my garden. It doesn't flower a...Read Mores prolifically as my other hardy hisbiscus do, but that doesn't take away from the plant's splendor. Mine is very well behaved (gives me no trouble at all), performing beautifully with only two tall stems (about 4ft) shooting out of the ground, adorned with a dozen or so buds right now. I can't wait until it becomes established in my garden- I imagine it'll be quite a site! I've got hydrangea and another pink rose mallow nearby with white jasmine climbing all over the fence behind the garden. The pink, blue, and white color scheme looks great. I recommend moscheutos to anyone who's ever loved big, tropical, exotic shrubs-- they're low maintenence stunners!! Just watch out for the Japanese Beetles this time of year!