"Dwarf Hibiscus"

[Jim Lewis]

I'm looking for the species/cultivar name of a "Dwarf Hibiscus."

It looks like a Hibiscus, except for size. Flowers pink and about 1-inch across (or less). Tiny leaves. (I have a pic and that common name (dwarf), but can't find a "dwarf" in ANY of my books). Picture makes it look like it is 12" to 18" tall.

Thanks for any help.

Jim Lewis - [e-mail] - Tallahassee, FL - Nature encourages no looseness, pardons no errors. Ralph Waldo Emerson

[jrock64]

Try 'Rose Mallow'

is only 12 to 18 inches tall in zone 4

[Pam - gardengal]

You may want to know that various cultivated forms of Lavatera can get to be rather large shrubby plants - a good 8' tall in my climate. Not long-lived either, but very nice and profuse small pinkish flowers over a very long season.

pam - gardengal

[Stewart Robert Hinsley]

In article , Pam - gardengal writes

That's a different plant - The usual shrubby Lavateras are various Lavatera x clementii cultivars, but those are generally not small- flowered (except perhaps 'Eyecatcher' and 'Pink Frills' and perhaps some cultivars that I'm not familiar with). Unless you have a different standard for small. Perhaps you refer to Lavatera arborea aka Malva dendromorpha (which naturally grows as a standard).

However Lavatera trimestris normally runs 2 to 4 feet tall - only a couple of cultivars - 'White Cherub' and 'Novella' are in the 12-18 inches range. It's also not small-flowered - the flowers are 2 or more inches across.

There's various things the OP can do to narrow down the identification - e.g. count the styles - if there aren't 5 it's not a Hibiscus. The nature of the fruit is also handy for pinning down mallows.

There are small-flowered Hibiscuses, e.g. Hibiscus micranthus.

Most of the references found by Google for dwarf hibiscus are references to the chemically stunted pot hibiscuses (H. rosa-sinensis cultivars). These are also large flowered. However I've found a couple of references to Anisodontea (Cape Mallows) as dwarf hibiscuses - that the right flower colour and size; however the plant is bigger (I've got a single stemmed cutting from last autumn which is well over 2 feet already).

Botanically Anisodontea are mallows (Malveae), rather than Hibiscuses (Hibisceae). In the past they've been placed in Malva, Malvastrum and Sphaeralcea. My guess is that they're most nearly related to the Eurasian mallows (true mallows, Lavatera, marsh mallows, hollyhocks and Malope).

[Jim Lewis]

Thanks all. I guess it is a Lavatera of some sort. None of the pics I can find show one with flowers as small as those pictured for the "dwarf hibiscus" but there are quite a few species.

Thanks again.

Jim Lewis - [e-mail] - Tallahassee, FL - Nature encourages no looseness, pardons no errors. Ralph Waldo Emerson

can get to be

long-lived

very long

Hibiscus."

and

and

of my

Emerson

[MLEBLANCA]

JIm, Try Sidalcea, also in the Malvaceae Family. Some hybrids are 'Elsie Heugh' 'Loveliness' and 'Party Girl'. Height 2-3 ft. Flowers 1 1/2-2 inch.

Emilie