Blue Chiffon® Hibiscus

Gardeners and the color blue have an intense love relationship. The rarest of colors in plants, true blues are coveted. Not those purple shades that are often passed off as ‘blue’, but the real deal. We love the purple-blues of course, but it’s the blues of delphinium and other rarities many covet – like you, because you clicked on this plant. No, these are not ‘color adjusted’ photographs, because the Blue Chiffon® Hardy Hibiscus is the real deal, and these huge flowers – 3½ inches across – really are a wonderful, elegant true blue. It’s as if fragments of the sky have fallen and lodged among the leaves, giving us a bush that is so eye-catching and appealing it is hard to believe it is even real.

Be assured too that this is not some difficult plant that underperforms and likely fails. Not at all. Like other hardy hibiscus it is incredibly tough and reliable, thriving in hot, dry locations, growing rapidly, and blooming with wild abandon. Plus, it has been specially bred by one of the world’s top breeders of these plants, to grow well and bloom for a long period in cooler zones, where, if you have tried, most hardy hibiscus grow poorly and give a distinctly underwhelming performance. This won’t happen when you grow the Blue Chiffon® Hardy Hibiscus. Instead you get a fast-growing bush that will be 6 or 8 feet tall and a generous 4 feet wide within just a few years. Smothered in blooms from mid-summer right into fall, this great shrub will be an instant favorite, and if you are feeling blue about the impact of your garden, this plant is the solution.

Growing the Blue Chiffon® Hardy Hibiscus

Size and Appearance

The Blue Chiffon® Hardy Hibiscus grows rapidly – around 2 feet a year – into a generous and vigorous deciduous bush. Plants are typically about 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide, but unpruned it will become substantially larger in time, with the ability to reach 12 feet tall and 10 feet wide. So when planting, be sure to allow plenty of space for it to develop in, and plant at least 3 feet in all directions from walls, fences, boundaries or other plants. With many upright branches it naturally forms a dense bush, with branches to the ground. The leaves are dark green, glossy and smooth. They are about 3 inches long, with a lobed and deeply-cut margin that makes them exceptionally attractive. It is noticeably more bushy and densely branched than older types of hardy hibiscus.

Blooms appear on new stems, once they have developed a little, and the first will appear around June in most areas. Flowering continues throughout the summer, in profusion, usually continuing into fall unless it is very cold, and often only stopping after the first hard frost, especially so in warmer zones. Part of the reason this plant keeps blooming so long is that it rarely produces any seeds, meaning no weed problems, and also the energy of the plant going into more flowers instead of seed pods.

Flowers open along the stems in succession, and each bloom is a flat disc of 5 broad and full petals, 3 1⁄2 inches across, surrounding a center of many small, narrow twisted petals. Through these petaloids you can catch a glimpse of a deep-red throat, with feathery edges reaching into the base of the petals. The color is a uniform and gorgeous sky blue – a real treat and a standout in your garden.

Using the Blue Chiffon® Hardy Hibiscus in Your Garden

Because it is so easy to grow, the Blue Chiffon® Hardy Hibiscus is a great asset in your garden. With its bulk and rapid growth it is perfect for creating new shrub beds – or filling gaps in existing ones. It’s wonderful blue coloring fits in perfectly with any and all other colors – one of the assets of blue in the garden. Use it to make a dramatic and colorful flowering hedge – space plants about 4 or even 5 feet apart, so you don’t need many for a long screen. It is also wonderful planted out on a lawn as a specimen, where it will be admired by all.

Hardiness

This plant enjoys hot parts of the country, but it has been bred to do well in cooler zones too – much better than older hardy hibiscus did. So from zone 5 to zone 9, it will thrive.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Plant the Blue Chiffon® Hardy Hibiscus in full sun – it loves it and thanks you by producing many blooms. In warmer zones it will take a few hours a day of shade, but not too much, or growth will be weaker. Any well-drained soil, of any type, is just fine – this is not a difficult plant at all. Water new plants regularly during the first summer, but once established you will be amazed at how drought tolerant it is, while keeping on flowering.

Maintenance and Pruning

Deer leave mature hardy hibiscus alone, but they can sometimes browse on young plants, so give some protection when it is newly planted. Serious pests or diseases are never seen on it – any problems come from too much water or too much shade. Prune in spring as needed – cutting back stems from the previous year to 12 inches long or less is the usual thing done, but you can also remove a few big branches once it becomes older – this will rejuvenate it. Don’t trim once new growth begins, because the flowers are formed on those new stems, and cutting them off means few flowers.

History and Origin of the Blue Chiffon® Hardy Hibiscus

The hardy hibiscus, Hibiscus syriacus, is often also called Rose of Sharon. Despite its name it comes from China and Korea, and it was carried along the Silk Route centuries ago to the Middle East. From there it was brought to Europe. It has always been popular in hot and humid parts of America, where it performs well even in high heat and drought.

Roderick Woods fell in love with this plant in the South of France, but found it didn’t grow so well in his home country – England. He had been a renowned professor at Cambridge University, but hardy hibiscus was his obsession. After years of breeding he developed spectacular blooms on plants that also grew well in cool, wet areas. He built a large collection of fabulous seedlings to use for his breeding. In 2001 he crossed, by hand-pollination, two of his own plants. Among the batch of seedlings he grew was one that really caught his eye – because it was a stunning blue color. After testing it he partnered with Spring Meadows Nursery of Grand Haven, Michigan to take out a US patent, which he was granted in 2009. He named his plant ‘Notwood3’. It has been released for gardeners with the trademark name of Blue Chiffon®, and sold under the Proven Winners® label.

Buying the Blue Chiffon® Hardy Hibiscus at The Tree Center

The Proven Winners® label is not just a name. Plants like the Blue Chiffon® Hardy Hibiscus are the result of years of breeding and selection, which makes each one a reliable and novel addition to your garden. If you like blue, you will adore this plant, so don’t hesitate to add it to your garden, and don’t wait or you will find them all gone.