Hibiscus - Can it survive a winter around Toronto, ON?

[jim.moneytime]

Hello There,

I was walking through Wal Mart today and notice a beautiful flowering tree. I decided that it would look wonderful in my front garden and decided to buy it. It is a gorgeous tree which stands about 4 feet tall with a crown on it about 2.5 feet in diameter. The flowers are a huge, dark pink, 5 (or 6) pedal flower which has a magnificent center on it.

I'm not a gardener by any means (which may be evident by this post), but I planted it when I got home. I noticed on the tag (after I got hom) that it said never to allow it to get below 50 degrees farenheit. I thought this was a little weird as I live in Canada so I decided to do a little research.

I have seen some posts saying that Hibiscus can stay outside for the winter, another said to bring it into the garage where it can go dormant and anoter said that it has to come in in the winter.

I'm confused, I don't know what to do. Please help.

[mleblanca]

Hi Jim Yes it can be confusing since there are many plants called Hibiscus. (All related to each other and having 5 petals) Did your plant tag have another name after Hibiscus?

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is Chinese/Tropical Hibiscus. It is tender and will not generally survive any frost. some will go to about 30 deg.F This is probably what you have since it says 50 F. Bring it inside for winter. The 'tree' is very likely a standard form of this Hibiscus.

H. moscheutos is a perennial hibiscus that is cold hardy and would die back in winter and return in the spring. Yours doesn't sound like this plant. I've not heard of it being grown as a standard as it's main stem is not very sturdy.

H. syriacus is called Rose of Sharon or sometimes Althaea. It is a shrubby plant, also cold hardy and returns in the spring. These are the most commonly found Hibiscus that you'd find at Walmart. Your "magnificent center" sounds like a Tropical Hibiscus. Emilie NorCal

[Stewart Robert Hinsley]

Huge flowers is usually associated with H. moscheutos and its allies ("dinner plate" Hibiscus), but I read that some H. rosa-sinensis cultivars can get pretty large-flowered. I agree that H. rosa-sinensis sounds the most likely.

He can look for pictures of various Hibiscuses on the web to see if he recognises anything. I've got a collection of assorted Hibiscus images at

[mleblanca]

WOW Stewart, those photos are fantastic. I really like the close ups of the stigma and anthers. Thanks for posting the URL. What other genera do you have? Emilie