Evergreen erect shrub to about 2 m or more tall. Leaves to about 15 cm long, ovate, saw-toothed and glossy above, sometimes with few rounded well-separated teeth. Epicalyx bracts 6-9. Sepals to about 3 cm long. Petals to 12 cm long, of various colours and sometimes double in the cultivars. Staminal column longer than the petals, protruding from the flower; summer to early winter.
Tropical Asia
Evergreen; leaves not lobed; staminal column protruding.
A wide range of cultivars is grown in warm climates and the botanical name is often applied loosely to plants that may be of hybrid origin. The selection of popular cultivars listed under the Cultivar tab may include hybrids involving H. schizopetalus, H. arnottianus, H. waimea, H. liliflorus, H. storchii, H. cameronii, H.kokio and other hybrid parents.
Cultivars of H.rosa-sinensis originating in Australia: 'Ablaze', 'Alex Pimm', 'Andrea Mollineaux', 'Annie Wood', 'Audrey', 'Aussie 2', 'Autumn Beauty', 'Autumn Time', 'Ben Lexcen', 'Betty Noleen', 'Big Tango', 'Black Knight', 'Blazeaway', 'Bolero', 'Bookie's Brolly', 'Bruceii', 'Captain Charles Louis Hope', 'Carmelita', 'Cecilia', 'Celia', 'Chantai', 'Charles s. Blackman', 'Clan Macgilvray', 'Columbus', 'Constance', 'Copper Mine', 'Corinne Philp', 'Crown of Warringah', 'Dark Horse', 'Dell's Pride', 'Devotion', 'Dorothy Brady', 'Dorothy's Quest', 'Dusky Beau', 'Eclipse', 'Edna Morris', 'Eileen McMullen', 'Enid Lewis', 'Envy', 'Eureka', 'Eurilla Sunshine', 'Expo', 'Fancy Pants', 'Fanfare', 'Facinatin Rhythm', 'Felice', 'Fiesta', 'Fire Truck', 'Firefly', 'Flamingo Star', 'Flower Girl', 'Foster Brady', 'Francesca', 'Frank's Lady', 'Gay Spirit', 'Georgie Girl', 'Glenys Wood', 'Gold Coast City', 'Golden Lotto', 'Golden Robes', '*Graham McGilvary', 'Gwen Mary', 'Harlequin', 'Heather', 'Henrietta','Hot Shot', 'Iceland Girl', 'Insignus', 'Isabelle Beard', 'Ivy's Idol', 'Jalma', 'Jay's Orange', 'Jennifer Catherine', 'Jim's Star', 'Jocelyn', 'Joel Wright', 'Julie Anne', 'Katy Edwards', 'Kayare', 'Kevin Burton', 'Kim Ellen' 'Kylie Ritchie', 'Lady Cilento', 'Lady Flo', 'Lady Gae', 'Lady in Red', 'Laurie Hughes', 'Lavender Walk', 'Liebestraum', 'Lightning Ridge', 'Linda Pearl', 'Margaret Hillier', 'Maria Gracia', 'Marie Ann', 'Marjorie Coral', 'Marjory June', 'Martha Mcdonald', 'm.d. Robinson', 'Meeke Meeke', 'Megan Phillips', 'Merry Christmas', 'Midnight Frolic', 'Mini Glow', 'Monique Maria', 'Moon Shot', 'Morning Star', 'Mrs Andreasen', 'Mrs Garden Club', 'Mrs Lamont', 'My Fair Lady', 'Mystic Hue', 'Norman Stevens', 'Open Arms', 'Orange Grove', 'Orange Ride', 'Pacific Pearl', 'Pandora's Pearl', 'Patricia Noble', 'Pink Poodle', 'Plum Duff', 'Precious Nova', 'Prelude', 'Queensland Gold', 'Rainbow Trail', 'Red Beauty', 'Red Beret', 'Red Larry', 'Red Robin', 'ReJoyce', 'Rena George', 'Richard Bodnar', 'Robert Samuel', 'Sabrina', 'Sharon Ann', 'Shirley Howie', 'Silver Rose', 'Sir John Chandler', 'Solar Flare', 'Sonata', 'Spring Song', 'Summer Samba', 'Summer Sun', 'Sun and Sand', 'Sun Frolic', 'Sunset Boulevard', 's'wonderful', 'Ten Thirty Seven', 'Thelma Bennell', 'Thou Swell', 'Thumbelina', 'Thunderball', 'Tint'n'Tone', 'Tropic Star', 'Twilight Glow', 'Vanilla Sundae', 'Vickie Lee', 'Vitamin', 'Vivian Elizabeth', 'Wendy Wragge', 'West Coast Jewel', 'White Oomph', 'Wilmae', 'Yvonne McKinless'.
Source: (1997). Hibiscus. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 2. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 1. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Agnes Galt'
Flowers single, overlapping to 20 cm wide, rose pink with slightly deeper coloured eye. Strong upright habit, moderately branched.
Bred in Hawaii in the 1920s. ['Agnes Gault']
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Andersonii'
Flowers small, single, deeply laciniated, pendulous, open, to 10 cm wide, prolific, petals scarlet. Habit open, becoming pendulous with age. Foliage bronze.
Sport or seed variation of 'Archerii'.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Apple Blossom'
Flowers single, open, to 16 cm wide, pale pink with small red eye, prolific, appearing on older wood. Habit bushy, to 5 m tall.
Hawaiian origin, possibly a species.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Archeri'
Flowers small, single, laciniate, pendulous, open, to 10 cm wide, bright scarlet. Habit open, branching, to 4 m tall.
Bred by Rev. A.S. Archer, Antigua, 1899.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Brucei'
Flowers single, to 16 cm wide, petals semi-overlapping, bright yellow with a large white eye. Foliage lush green. Habit bushy, to 3 m tall.
Bred by Bruce's Nursery, Brisbane in the 1950s.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Camdenii'
Flowers single, open, to 14 cm wide, bright scarlet with a burgundy eye, prolific. Foliage deep green, serrated.
Introduced to Australia by John Macarthur who cultivated this and other plants on his farm at Camden, NSW. Cuttings were taken from the plant by early nurserymen and given the name of the property. It seems highly likely that this is in fact simply H. rosa-sinensis.
The first recorded hybrid of H. rosa-sinensis is H. rosa-sinensis 'Archeri'. A clergyman a. S. Archer, an amateur grower in Antigua, West Indies, crossed H. 'Camdenii' with H. schizopetalus and sent some of the seedlings to Kew, London where only one of them developed intermediary characters. ['Common Red', 'China Red', 'Java Red', H. javanica, H. sinensis]
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Cameo Queen'
Flowers single, overlapping, ruffled, to 20 cm wide, petals pale lemon on the outer edge, main petals creamy white with a small pink eye zone. Habit low, spreading, almost prostrate to 1.5 m tall.
Bred in Hawaii in the 1940s. '
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Catavki'
Flowers single, overlapping, slightly ruffled, to 20 cm wide, deep claret with a shiny eye zone. Tends to fade rapidly in hot sun. Habit bushy, to 2 m tall.
Raised in Hawaii at the Nei Hibiscus Farm in the 1950s. ['Kataoki Red']
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Crown Of Bohemia'
Flowers full double, to 16 cm wide, golden yellow changing to bronzy orange in cooler weather, prolific. Habit bushy, to 2 m tall.
Raised at the Monrovia Nursery, California in the 1950s. '
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'D.J. O'Brien'
Brien' Flowers full double, to 16 cm, dark apricot to orange with a deep carmine eye, prolific. Habit open, 2-3 m tall.
Origin unknown.
Flowers single, petals semi-overlapping, to 16 cm wide, soft pink with a pronounced cherry-red eye, prolific. Foliage dense, sometimes with purplish brown tints. Habit bushy, 4-5 m tall.
Raised in Hawaii in the 1920s.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Fantasia'
Flowers small, open, single, to 10 cm wide, bright satiny pink, prolific. Leaves only 3-4 cm long, semi-deciduous in cooler areas. Habit upright 3-4 m tall.
Originating Fiji, source unknown.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Full Moon'
Flowers full double, to 16 cm wide, bright lemon yellow with white eye, prolific. Foliage pale green, glossy. Habit bushy to 2 m tall.
Raised at the Monrovia Nursery, California in the 1950s. '
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'General Corteges'
Flowers single, semi-overlapping, to 15 cm wide, brilliant scarlet, prolific. Habit bushy, to 2 m tall.
Listed by Hazelwood Nursery, Epping, NSW in 1930s. Origin unknown.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Island Empress'
Flowers full double, to 15 cm wide, deep pinkish red with large carmine centre, prolific. Habit bushy 2-3 m tall.
Originating China in 1763, an original double.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Landersii'
Flowers small, double, to 10 cm wide, rich pinkish red with slightly darker centre, prolific. Habit bushy, to 2 m tall.
An early cultivar from Florida, USA. ['Pride of Hankins']
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Madonna'
Flowers single, overlapping, ruffled, to 20 cm wide, ivory with a dark carmine eye and pink halo. Habit bushy to 22 m tall.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Mrs Andreasen'
Flowers full ruffled, double, to 18 cm wide, pale apricot with occasional pink slashes and tonings, prolific. Habit bushy, 3-4 m tall.
Discovered by Dennis Andreasen of Andreasen's Nursery at Beverley Hills, Sydney, in the late 1950s or early '60s; it was a sport of 'Mrs George Davis' and sometimes reverts back, hence the name 'Peaches and Cream' that is occasionally used. ['Beryl May', 'Peaches and Cream']
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Mrs George Davis'
Flowers full, ruffled, double, to 18 cm wide, bright pink, prolific. Habit bushy, 3-4 m tall.
Raised in Hawaii in the 1940s. ['Kona']
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Mrs Tomkins'
Flowers single, overlapping, to 20 cm wide, pale pink. Habit open, sparsely branched, to 2 m tall.
Raised in Hawaii in the 1940s.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Peachblow'
Flowers full, double, to 16 cm wide, pale pink with a deep carmine centre, prolific. Habit bushy 2-3 m tall.
Sport of 'Island Empress', date unknown.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Rose Scott'
Flowers open, single, to 16 cm wide, cerise with a white margin on the inside of the petals, prolific. Habit sparse, open, 3-4 m tall.
Original variety, origin unknown. ['Versicolor']
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Ruth Wilcox'
Flowers small, single, open, pendulous, slightly fringed, to 10 cm wide, pale satin pink. Habit pendulous when left unpruned to grow to 5-6 m tall.
A hybrid H. arnottianus × H. schizopetalus raised in Hawaii in the 1900s. ['Albolaciniatus', Waterfall Hibiscus]
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Sabrina'
Flowers full double, to 18 cm wide, bright cerise, prolific. Habit bushy, to 3-4 m tall.
Sport of 'Mrs George Davis' found at Lasscocks Nursery, Locksley, South Australia in the late 1950s and named in honour of an English actress popular at the time.
This cultivar does not revert like 'Mrs Andreasen' but has given rise to a sport named 'Enid Lewis'.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Surfrider'
Flowers single, overlapping, ruffled, to 25 cm wide, apricot to golden orange, varying with the weather, eye reddish, prolific. Habit low and bushy, almost prostrate, to 1.7 m tall.
Raised by Nei Hibiscus Farm, Hawaii in the 1950s.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Swan Lake'
Flowers single, open, to 10 cm wide, pure white. Leaves small, 3-4 cm long, semi-deciduous in cool areas. Habit upright, to 3-4 cm tall.
From Fiji possibly a sport of 'Fantasia' (or vice versa).
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Thelma Bennell'
Flowers single, overlapped, to 18 cm wide, rich cerise, prolific. Handsome dense, deep green foliage. Habit bushy to 2-3 m tall.
Raised in Australia by Alex Scott, a nurseryman of Birkdale, Queensland. Seed from Mr Ross Gast, a prominent American Hibiscus breeder was sent to various people in Australia. This was one raised successfully and with commercial potential. It was named after the wife of Bob Bennell a founder of The Australian Hibiscus Society and president for many years.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Vasco'
Flowers single, overlapping, slightly ruffled, to 20 cm wide, bright yellow with ivory eye, prolific. Habit open, to 1.7 m tall.
Raised by Nei Hibiscus Farm, Hawaii in the 1950s.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'White Kalakaua'
Flowers semi- to full double, to 17 cm wide, creamy white with pinkish tinge that is more pronounced in cool weather, perfumed, prolific. Habit bushy, to 3 m tall.
Raised by Nei Hibiscus Farm, Hawaii in the 1950s. ['Elephant Ear']
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Wrightii'
Flowers single, loose, open, to 18 cm wide, ivory with a small carmine eye. Habit sparse, to 3 m tall.
