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Malvaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Hibiscus moscheutos

Hibiscus moscheutos

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
GrowthMedium

One report says that Hibiscus moscheutos is moderately cold-resistant, tolerating winter temperatures falling to around -25°c, then this same report also says that the plant succeeds outdoors in temperate zones only in those areas where winter temperatures do not fall below about -5°c[1]. Prefers a well-drained humus rich fertile soil in a sheltered position in full sun[1]. Well-suited to a water-side planting[1]. Plants of the cultivar 'Southern Belle' have been seen growing outdoors at Kew Gardens, they are situated on a south-east facing wall of the Temperate House and have been there for at least 3 years as of 2000[PFAF]. A very ornamental plant[2], there are many named varieties[1]. The rose mallow bee (Ptilothrix bombiformis) is oligolectic on swamp rose-mallow, meaning it pollinates no other plant[3].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a warm greenhouse. Germination is usually fairly rapid and no special pretreatment is needed, although germination will be faster if the seed is abraded or soaked prior to sowing[4]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. Grow them on in the greenhouse for their first year and to plant them out in early summer of the following year. Some reports say that the seed can be sown in situ outside and that it gives a good rate of germination[5, 6, 7]. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, mid summer in a frame. They generally strike readily, particularly if cuttings are taken on an angle through a node and rooting hormone is applied to their ends[4]. Overwinter them in a warm greenhouse and plant out after the last expected frosts. Division of the rootstock in the spiring. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Hibiscus+moscheutos>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  3. [3]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  4. [4]Australian Native Plants Society — http://anpsa.org.au/index.html ↩︎A series of fact sheets on Australian plants. Good photographs, brief description and information on uses, habitat, range, cultivation etc.
  5. [5]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  6. [6]Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. — McMillan-Browse. P. · Grower Books · 1985 · ISBN 0-901361-21-6 ↩︎Does not deal with many species but it is very comprehensive on those that it does cover. Not for casual reading.
  7. [7]The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. — Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. · Athens Ga. Varsity Press · 1987 · ISBN 0942375009 ↩︎A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.
  8. [8]Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2 — Phillips. R. & Rix. M. · Pan Books, London. · 1998 · ISBN 0-330-37376-5 ↩︎Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.
  9. [9]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
  10. [10]Perennial Garden Plants — Thomas. G. S. · J. M. Dent & Sons, London. · 1990 · ISBN 0 460 86048 8 ↩︎A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
  11. [11]A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. — Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. · Houghton Mifflin Co. · 1990 · ISBN 0395467225 ↩︎A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
  12. [12]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 1998 · ISBN 0-88192-453-9 ↩︎Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
  13. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎