Hibiscus heterophyllus

Hibiscus heterophyllus

Last year while in Adelaide I fell in love with the Hibiscus plant, as they were in full flower in many parts of Adelaide we visited. There seemed to be a large variety of colours and the fact that they seemed to thrive in the heat of Adelaide with there dry hot climate was good to see. On my return home while out walking I began to notice Hibiscus plants around my neighbourhood growing equally as good as they did in Adelaide. This spurred me on to see if I could fined one for my garden. And find one I did, and when I looked at the label and it said Australian Native, I knew that this plant was the one for me. I found the ideal spot for it in the garden and watched it grow, until the frost of spring hit. How disappointing it was to find all the new growth on my Hibiscus burnt by the frost, when the label had stated that this plant was frost tolerant. Never one to give up on a plant, I covered it from further frost and waited to see just how bad the damage would be. DH took one look at the plant and advised me to pull it up and throw it in the bin. But this I could not do, I carefully trimmed all the burnt foliage from the plant, fed it and kept it watered and it has come back. Still only a small plant less than a metre in height I had not expected it to flower this year, but while out in the garden picking tomato's I saw my first flower. What a pleasant surprise this flower was, it was worth all the effort I went to trying to keep this little hibiscus alive. Here is a photo of my first flower, I just love it.
P.S Update this bush as of the 8.3.2010 is now growing and flowering well and stands more than a metre high.