Starry Starry Night Hibiscus

Foliage dark as night, studded from top to bottom with a profusion of huge, 8-inch flowers – this plant would certainly inspire Van Gogh to pick up his brushes and capture its beauty. The flowers are wonderful, with 5 large, overlapping petals brushed with pink on a white background, and anchored with a deep red center that radiates out along the darker-pink veins of the petals. This bush will grow an inch a day to be 4 feet tall and wide by the end of summer. Flowers are produced in abundance, and continuously, from mid-July into October or the first frost. A top-pick among the new hardy hibiscus that are blowing gardeners away with their beauty, and just how easy they are to grow successfully. Vigorous and bold, this plant makes a great bush planted out on a lawn, or how about a row along an unsightly fence? Grow it at the back of flower beds, along a path, or in a planter box, where it will brighten a terrace or sunny porch. However you grow it, this great shrub is going to be the highlight of your summer, that’s for sure.

• Very large light-pink flowers with a darker eye, from mid-July into October
• Very dark-red foliage is the darkest of any hibiscus hybrid
• Winter hardy, and also grows in heat and humidity
• Loved by hummingbirds and butterflies
• Grow well in damp soils, and will even grow in shallow standing water

Choose a spot in full sun for your Starry Starry Night Hibiscus, to have the most blooms possible. It will grow in almost any soil, from ordinary garden soils to clays, wet soils and even in standing water. In drier soils regular watering will be necessary. Remove dead flowers to keep more coming. It isn’t eaten by deer or bothered by any serious pests or diseases, and is very easy to grow. It is winter hardy in zone 5, but also enjoys the heat and humidity of the south-east. Normally dies back to the ground in winter, and can be slow to sprout, but once it begins it grows very fast to soon reach full size. Prune hard in early spring, cutting old branches back to just a few inches tall – this is the secret to ensure the largest blooms possible.