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Monday, July 26, 2010

Pretty picture: Hibiscus NOID


I don't know what the most likely species ID would be here; it's a hardy Hibiscus of some kind syriaca (thanks, Don & Greensparrow), from someone's front yard here in town. I remember seeing it last year and pondering whether it would be worth my time to ask for a seedling or cutting, but then I didn't, because so much other stuff was going on last year. I'm less certain now that I actually want one -- whatever the voices in my head tell me, I don't have to have all the plants -- but I can still appreciate them when others grow them.


To me, accustomed to Hibiscus rosa-sinensis as I am, the pinky-lavender color of the flowers seems impossibly strange and exotic, though I'm aware it's not that unusual of a color for hardy hibiscus.
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 26, 2010 at 3:03 AM

    Hibiscus syriacus. A very popular plant. Many cultivars. It's my impression that the single-flowered forms do a better job of self-cleaning, while the double flowers tend to hang onto the plant longer after fading---or maybe the deadheads are just more conspicuous. They tend to self-sow to excess---If you get one, you may get tired of pulling up all the seedlings.

    Don

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  2. JosephJuly 26, 2010 at 4:57 AM

    Yes, hibiscus syriacus. Hate it. Though, as Don says, the doubles are less of a weed.

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  3. IvynettleJuly 26, 2010 at 7:58 AM

    Bwahahaha - guess what I've been taking pictures of today?

    We've had some in past gardens, never had a problem with seedlings - but then again, they were surrounded by lawn, so any seedlings that might have grown just got mowed down.

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  4. LizaJuly 26, 2010 at 9:35 AM

    How can someone hate a hibiscus (Greensparrow)? That just seems weird.

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  5. Sentient MeatJuly 26, 2010 at 2:50 PM

    Liza, it's easy to hate misbehaving plants. Especially when they were HIRED (i.e. planted in the yard) for some domesticated purpose. I would say I hate them in proportion to the work they end up costing me (that is, the damage they cause).

    I hate ivy, chlorophytum ("spider plant"), and the beautiful but deadly and invasive Ricinus ("castor oil plant") -- not even a big, floofy flower could redeem these miscreants. (Mind you, I prefer agaves to hibiscus at the best of times, but I will admit I caught myself admiring a big yellow-flowered hibiscus not 3 days ago.)

    I still might GROW these plants under controlled circumstances, but I still hate the ones running wild in my yard and next door in the park.

    --DC
    sentientmeat.net

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  6. meemsnycJuly 26, 2010 at 9:54 PM

    Hmm, this is an interesting hibiscus. I love hibiscus but never seen this one before.

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