Above: Apricot

Talk about tropical, then this is it! This tropical shrub blooms and blooms all summer long. The shiny leaves add a bit of splash to any garden. Any nursery or big box store in the spring is a good place to find these. There are also hardy relatives to this plant that have flowers 10 inches in diameter, known as Rose Mallows, they are hardy to zone 4. Rose of Sharon is another great option with smaller 5 inch flowers.

This plant is apparently able to go dormant during the tropical dry season - which means that you can store this plant in a basement. I have not been able to get it to work, I am thinking that I am letting the soil dry out too much. I will keep trying and I will write more about it when I get it to work.

Below: Salmon Pink

Botanical Name:

Where to buy this plant:

Updated October 22, 2010