Swamp Mallow Hibiscus
Hibiscus moscheutos
Dinner-plate blooms up to a foot across, white to pink, all summer into fall. Fast to six feet, with hummingbirds crowding the flowers.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
The most dramatic native perennial we carry. dinner-plate-sized flowers from summer through fall, hummingbird-essential, and a larval host for painted lady butterflies.
Hardy Hibiscus produces flowers the size of dinner plates, literally. Each bloom can reach a foot across, opening in the morning and closing by evening, only to be replaced by new ones through summer and early fall. The effect in a full sun, moist border is nothing short of tropical: massive white, pink, or bicolor flowers on bold, fast-growing plants that can reach six feet in a single season. Hummingbirds and native bees crowd the staminal column constantly. It's a larval host plant for the gray hairstreak butterfly and the painted lady, and the seedpods that follow provide food for songbirds through winter. It goes completely to the ground each fall and returns late in spring. Mark the location so you don't panic in May thinking it's dead. It will emerge and grow to full size in weeks once the soil warms. Spectacular, reliable, and ecologically essential.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown swamp mallow hibiscus propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Moist
- Mature size
- 3–6 ft · 24–48 in wide
- Bloom time
- July–October
- USDA zones
- 4–9
- Family
- Malvaceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America. freshwater marshes, wet meadows, and pond margins from Maryland to Indiana south to Florida and Texas
Care notes for swamp mallow hibiscus.
Plant in full sun in moist to wet, fertile soil. Hardy Hibiscus is a heavy feeder and benefits from compost worked in at planting time. Water generously through summer. it will not perform in dry conditions. It emerges very late in spring; be patient and mark the location. Cut old stems back to 6 inches in fall after frost. Divide every four to five years in spring if clumps become overcrowded. Seed pods can be harvested to propagate.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside swamp mallow hibiscus.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.