Hibiscus syriacus ‘Purple Hibiscus’

Our book group recently read The Purple Hibiscus, a wonderful novel by Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adi, and by coincidence, my purple hibiscus was in full bloom. In the story, the purple hibiscus signifies freedom and individuality, and whilst this seems irrelevant to my column, it’s been on my mind ever since, the way that some plants have great meaning to most of us.

This hibiscus, one of the large Malvaceae family, is the only one I grow.

It’s deciduous and has none of the issues with hibiscus beetle and other insects that the big blowsy hybrids suffer, and it flowers profusely all through late spring and summer.

The foliage is a lovely light green, and the leaves resemble oak leaves- serrated deeply and very attractive.

It originated in East Asia (how did it get to Nigeria?) and is very adaptable.

For maximum flowering, full sun or light shade is preferable, and mine have prevailed throughout our droughts and flooding rain in quite heavy soil with no help at all and just a very light trim in spring. They can be cut back to a third if you want it to hedge or don’t have room for it to reach its maximum height of two metres.

This particular hibiscus is a ‘Double Plum’, sometimes referred to as a ‘Double Red/Blue’ in catalogues and is quite rare but grows easily from semi-hardwood cuttings.

Cuttings placed in a jar of water will quickly develop roots and do best in either dark containers or pop the jar in a brown paper bag. (I have no idea why this is so, but a gardening mate advised me!)

Like most hibiscus, the flowers are edible and have been used in teas (as they are high in magnesium) and also in jams and salads.

Hibiscus flowers are non-toxic but can make dogs quite unwell if eaten in large quantities.

The flowers have both male and female parts, so they selfpollinate with the assistance of bees. The pistil is long and tubular whilst the five ‘hairy’ spots at the top of the pistil are where the pollen is collected.

Sometimes called ‘Rose of Sharon’, this is somewhat misleading as it can be applied to most of the Malvaceae family.

There is a similar open single variety, Alyogyne huegel, which is a native of the south west of Western Australia, that is a fast-growing evergreen but difficult to grow here, whilst the syriacus is easy and rewarding. And I keep thinking of the book...

Carole Gamble