Berry Awesome pairs huge 7- to 8-inch ruffled flowers in lavender pink with a red eye against dark, olive green foliage. The leaves are deeply lobed like a maple's, and the plant grows in a dense, compact form that is a clear improvement over older, floppier hibiscus.
It reaches about 4 feet tall and 4½ to 5 feet wide, with flowers produced from top to bottom from midsummer into late summer. It was named a national Perennial of the Year in 2019 and works well as a specimen or in a sunny, moist border.
What it looks like
A dense, compact bush about 48 inches tall and 54 to 60 inches wide with deeply lobed, maple-like leaves in deep midnight olive green. Flowers are 7 to 8 inches across, ruffled, in lavender pink with a small red eye at the center. Blooms open along the stems from top to bottom. At peak the dark, lacy-leaved bush is dotted with many large lavender pink saucers.
Growing it with lavender
Full sun suits it, but its thirst for steady moisture puts it in a watered border, pond edge or rain garden rather than beside 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.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Hibiscus
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Flower color: Lavender pink with a red eye
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Foliage: Dark olive green
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Growth habit: Dense, compact bush
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Mature size: 4 ft tall × 54 in–5 ft 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
