Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

There are several Hibiscus that are native to Texas (but not all of them are hardy to USDA zone 8 for Central Texas). The Native Plant Database on our website has the following native Texas Hibiscus.

Hardy in Central Texas

Hibiscus aculeatus (Comfortroot)

Valued for its attractive flowers, this small-statured mallow blooms in summer and fall. Its flowers are cream colored with a dark red center, the petals appearing pleated with scalloped edges. In moist garden soil, it can live up to 6 years and attain a height of up to 6 bushy feet, though 3 feet is more common.

Plant Delights Nursery list this Hibiscus as hardy to USDA zone 7a.

Hibiscus denudatus (Paleface)

Paleface or rock hibiscus is a small shrub, 1 1/2-3 ft. high, with tiny, fuzzy leaves which drop during periods of drought. Leaves are fine-toothed, 1–1 1/2 inches long and almost as wide. A scraggly, pale plant covered with whitish hairs. Bowl-shaped, white to pinkish-lavender flowers, more deeply colored in the center, bloom in upper leaf axils and along the ends of leafless, erect branches. Inside the pink or lavender cup of a flower stands a brush-like column of stamens and stigma.

These plants seem to have too few leaves. The delicate flowers are small for the genus and lack the flamboyance of ornamental species.

The Aggie Horticulture website at Texas A&M University lists this Hibiscus as USDA zone 7.

Hibiscus grandiflorus (Swamp rosemallow)

The five pink petals of swamp rose-mallow flowers each have a red to purple center, are 4-6 in. long, and surround many stamens. Flowers nod slightly from leaf axils and occur singly. Velvety, alternate leaves are heart-shaped, three-lobed, and toothed. Seed pods are also velvety. This shrub-like, herbaceous to somewhat woody plant grows to 6 ft. tall or more.

Swamp Hibiscus is a member of the mallow family (family Malvaceae) which includes herbs, shrubs, and rarely small trees, often velvety with starlike or branched hairs, the flowers borne singly or in branched clusters. There are about 85 genera and 1,500 species, many in tropical America. Rose-of-Sharon and other Hibiscus, and Hollyhocks are grown as ornamentals. Okra is the edible fruit of one species of Hibiscus, and the hairs of seeds of Gossypium provide the fiber cotton.

Plant Delights Nursery list this Hibiscus as hardy to USDA zone 6a.

Hibiscus laevis (Halberdleaf rosemallow)

The Halberd-leaved rose mallow grows to 6 feet tall with erect stems and leaves. The leaves are alternate and prominently lobed at the base, the lobes wide-spreading and sharp-toothed. Flowers bloom from the axils of the leaves, from the bottom to the top of the stem. The large cup-shaped blossoms, about 3 inches long, are pink, sometimes white, with maroon or purple throats. The 5 overlapping petals open by day and close tightly at night.

The Missouri Botanical Garden list this Hibiscus as hardy to USDA zone 4.

Hibiscus lasiocarpos (Woolly rose-mallow)

An 3-5 ft., upright, hairy perennial with toothed, triangular to heart-shaped leaves and terminal flower clusters. The leaves, toothed and alternate, have long stems, 4–6 inches. Stems are woody and somewhat brittle. The large white (occasionally pinkish) blossoms are 3–4 inches long, with a crimson eye at the center. The petals fold up at night and look as though they had never been open. Stamens extend beyond the flower.

Plant Delights Nursery list this Hibiscus as hardy to USDA zone 5a.

Hibiscus moscheutos (Crimsoneyed rosemallow)

This is a 3-8 ft., shrubby perennial with numerous sturdy stems arising from a single crown. The large, heart-shaped leaves are grayish-green above and hairy-white below. The showy, five-petaled, creamy-white flowers have a conspicuous band of red or burgundy at their bases from which a tubular column of yellow stamens extends.

This strikingly showy species is often found along edges of salt marshes but is more common in upper-valley wetlands.

Plant Delights Nursery list this Hibiscus as hardy to USDA zone 6a.

Hibiscus striatus ssp. lambertianus (Striped rosemallow)

Missouri Botanical Garden list this Hibiscus as hardy to USDA zone 7. Easily grown in average, medium to wet soils in full sun. Tolerates some light shade, but full sun with good air circulation produces best flowers, strongest stems and the best environment for resisting potential diseases. Site in locations protected from wind to minimize the risk of wind burn. Best in moist, organically rich soils (preference for wetlands in native habitat), but does surprisingly well in average garden soils as long as those soils are not allowed to dry out. Regular deep watering is advisable. Plants die to the ground in cold winters but are vigorous rapid growers in spring.

Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii (Turk's cap)

This spreading shrub, often as broad as high, grows 2-3 ft., sometimes reaching 9 ft. Bright-red, pendant, hibiscus-like flowers never fully open, their petals overlapping to form a loose tube with the staminal column protruding, said to resemble a Turkish turban, hence its most common name, Turks cap. Especially useful in shady situations.

The variety name of this plant is named for Thomas Drummond, (ca. 1790-1835), naturalist, born in Scotland, around 1790. In 1830 he made a trip to America to collect specimens from the western and southern United States. In March, 1833, he arrived at Velasco, Texas to begin his collecting work in that area. He spent twenty-one months working the area between Galveston Island and the Edwards Plateau, especially along the Brazos, Colorado, and Guadalupe rivers. His collections were the first made in Texas that were extensively distributed among the museums and scientific institutions of the world. He collected 750 species of plants and 150 specimens of birds. Drummond had hoped to make a complete botanical survey of Texas, but he died in Havana, Cuba, in 1835, while making a collecting tour of that island.

Texas Superstar Plants lists this Hibiscus as hardy to USDA Zone 7b.

Not hardy in Central Texas

Hibiscus coulteri (Desert rosemallow)

The Aggie Horticulture website at Texas A&M University lists this Hibiscus as USDA zone 9.

Hibiscus martianus (Heartleaf rosemallow)

The Aggie Horticulture website at Texas A&M University lists this Hibiscus as USDA zone 8. (Perhaps is hardy in protected sites?)