More than 200 species of various trees, bushes and herbaceous plants belong to the genus Hibiscus. The homeland of almost all of them are the tropics and subtropics. And only a few species can grow in the open ground of temperate latitudes. First of all, it is a hybrid hibiscus, which was bred in the 40-50s of the last century by artificially crossing three American varieties: red, marsh and armed. The resulting hybrid has excellent frost-resistant and decorative qualities. However, almost all these varieties are lost, and the remaining ones do not already have that set of corolla stains that were derived by the author. But even those varieties of herbaceous and Syrian winter-hardy hibiscus, which are grown by gardeners today, are amazingly beautiful.
The color of hibiscus flowers is very diverse: white, pink, raspberry, etc. Flowers in herbaceous perennial hibiscus are large, sometimes up to 30 cm in diameter. Each flower lives only one day, and then falls down, and instead of it the next day other flowers are revealed. But in addition to flowers are very decorative and the leaves of the plant due to their color and shape. The stem of Syrian hibiscus becomes lignified and very durable immediately after growing.
Flowers hibiscus garden are simple and terry. And their simple forms are more winter-hardy and better tolerate wintering than terry.
Hibiscus - winter care
Herbaceous hibiscus garden perfectly tolerates winter in temperate regions, and its variety of hibiscus Syrian can winter without any preparation only in the southern coastal areas. In all other localities, hibiscus orchard for winter needs to be sheltered. Let's find out how to take care of hibiscus in the garden in winter.
By winter, the aerial part of grassy hibiscus dies. It is necessary to cut off dry stems, leaving 10 cm above the ground. Only a powerful rhizome remains in the earth to winter, from which young shoots will appear in the spring. In order to protect the roots of herbaceous hibiscus from winter frosts, it is necessary in autumn to cover the soil with dry fallen leaves or lapnik from conifers.
Syrian hibiscus for the winter period can be excavated and transferred to a cool room, where the temperature should not be above 10 ° C. Care for hibiscus, wintering in this way, should be the same as for other room varieties of plants placed on a cold winter.
If the temperature in your area does not drop below -15 ° C in winter, you can leave the Syrian hibiscus garden for wintering in the open ground. However, in this case it is necessary to build a special shelter over the plant. To do this, it is necessary to make a frame over the tree and cover it with two layers of any covering material, for example, spunbond. If the winters in your area are usually colder, then lapnika should be added to this shelter.
Syrian hibiscus "wakes up" after winter very late, when all other plants are already with foliage. So be patient and
Planting hibiscus garden is necessary on sunny, dry places with fertile soil. If you take good care of hibiscus, then he can live up to 20 years. And the older hibiscus becomes, the more its winter hardy qualities are manifested. The plant is getting used to your climate, and adult flowers do not already need winter shelters.