Keeping those plants alive!! Spotlight: The Confederate Rose

Confederate Rose

(hibiscus mutabilis)

© Dawn Gagnon Photography 2017

The Confederate Rose is not a rose but a large growing flowering shrub that produces large ruffled blossoms that are pink. It also goes by the common name "cotton rose" and it is seen widely across the southern US hence the most common name Confederate Rose. It is a member of the Mallow family, but unlike many varieties of Hibiscus you may find in nurseries, this variety will set root in your garden and comeback year after year in a beautiful display of glorious white and pink blossoms. If you don't have much frost, this plant is vigorous and can grow upwards to 30 feet, so when planting be sure to give it room to grow. Even where there is some frost this plant once established does very well. 

So how do we keep this lovely plant alive? Well it needs space, good air circulation, moisture but with good drainage. The soil needs to be fertile and in full sun. Past that, this plant will do very well in zones 8 and warmer. It can even withstand drought, and another added bonus is it is deer resistant, so if you live where deer can be a problem and they've attacked your roses, try this lovely flowering shrub instead.

The Confederate Rose

Photography by Dawn Gagnon

Many may be under the impression that the Confederate Rose is a member of the rose family. However, one look at this magnificent plant in person and you will soon discover it has very little to do with any actual rose as we know it. The Confederate Rose is actually a member of the Hibiscus family. Other names for this flowering plant are: cotton rosemallow.

 
Some interesting characteristics of this plant have to do with the blossoms, in early morning they are white, and by mid day the blossoms turn soft pink and in the evening, the flower turns deep pink. There is a variety of this plant that have blossoms that turn red in the evening. This variety is called, “Rubra” and is stunning. The plant grows fast and needs a place in the garden that will allow it to grow properly.

The blooming season of the Confederate rose is usually from summer through fall. Propagation by cuttings will take root ideally in the Spring time however, the Confederate rose can be propagated almost any time of the year, making it a favorite among 

In areas that experience a frost, the Confederate rose will not reach it's full potential in height, which can be almost twenty feet tall. However, keeping the plant to a 5-8 foot height will yield more flowers typically. The flowers themselves are massive measuring any where from 5 inches in diameter to larger and real show stoppers when the plant is in good health. The plant is flexible can handle partial shade or full sun and likes a rich soil, but has been known to thrive under less than ideal conditions.