Summer in Paradise has a refined, full form and a generous flower show. Deep red buds open to 7- to 8-inch hot cerise red flowers, produced from the top of the plant to the bottom instead of only at the tips.
Large, maple-like leaves in medium green with olive green edges fill in quickly and keep the plant looking full. It grows 3 to 3½ feet tall and 3½ to 4 feet wide and blooms from midsummer into early fall. Use it in place of a shrub in a sunny, moist bed.
What it looks like
A full, refined bush 36 to 42 inches tall and 42 to 48 inches wide of large, maple-like leaves in medium green with olive green edges. Deep red buds open to flowers 7 to 8 inches across in hot cerise red. Blooms appear from the top to the bottom of the stems. At peak the leafy green mound is covered in vivid cerise saucers.
Growing it with lavender
Grow it in a sunny spot with steady moisture, such as a rain garden or the back of a watered border, rather than in lean lavender soil.
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: Hot cerise red
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Foliage: Medium green with olive green edges
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Growth habit: Full, refined bush
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Mature size: 36–42 in tall × 42 in–4 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
