Airbrush Effect has large 8-inch blooms that look softly spray-painted: vibrant pink with salmon tones, a blurred white halo around the center and a small dark red eye. The petals overlap, giving each flower a full, dimensional look.
The plant forms a compact bush 3½ to 4 feet tall with rich dark green leaves. Many buds mean a long run of flowers from midsummer into early fall, when many gardens are fading. Like other hardy hibiscus, it is late to emerge in spring but then grows quickly. Use it as a focal point in a sunny bed.
What it looks like
A compact, bushy perennial 42 to 48 inches tall and 48 to 54 inches wide with upright stems and rich dark green, broad leaves. Flowers are about 8 inches across, saucer-shaped with overlapping petals, vibrant pink with salmon tones, fading to a soft, blurred white halo toward the center and a small dark red eye. Blooms open along the upper stems from midsummer into early fall. At peak the bush is dotted with many large, glowing pink-salmon saucers against the dark green leaves.
Growing it with lavender
It likes full sun but needs much more moisture than lavender, so plant it in a regularly watered bed or rain garden rather than beside the lavender.
Care
Plant in full sun for the most flowers; part shade is tolerated. It grows in poor to fertile soil but needs consistent moisture and should never dry out for long; hardy in zones 4-9. It is slow to wake up in spring, so mark the spot, and cut the old stems to the ground in late fall or early spring. Watch for Japanese beetles in midsummer.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Hibiscus
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Flower color: Vibrant pink with salmon tones, white halo and dark red eye
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Foliage: Dark green
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Growth habit: Compact, bushy mound
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Mature size: 42 in–4 ft tall × 4 ft–54 in wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 4–9
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Light: full sun, part sun to part shade
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Bloom start: Mid-July
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Peak bloom: Mid-August
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Bloom pattern: Long Blooming
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Deer resistance: Moderately resistant
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Pollinator value: Great
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly. Hardy hibiscus arrives fully dormant and is one of the last perennials to wake up: expect no new growth until late May or June. That is normal, so plant it, water lightly and be patient.
Shipping note: Emerges late; dormant crowns look lifeless in spring until growth starts in late May or June.
Lavender companion · grow guide
Community Grower Report
