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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.
