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Hibiscus rosa-sinensis ‘Seminole Pink’

COMMON NAMES

Seminole Pink Hibiscus

Hibiscus (hy-BIS-cus) - the Greek name for mallow

rosa-sinensis (RO-sa) (sin-EN-sis) - Chinese rose

‘Seminole Pink’ - cultivar name

GROUP 

Dicot

FAMILY 

Malvaceae

ORIGIN

Species - China, Southeast Asia; Cultivar - Florida

DESCRIPTION

Seminole Pink Hibiscus is an evergreen shrub/small tree that averages 6 to 8 feet in height with a spread of 4 to 5 feet. Its habit of growth is upright, symmetrical, and many-stemmed with a moderately dense crown. It is sometimes trained as a small tree. It has a moderate to fast growth rate.

Leaves are evergreen, alternate in arrangement, shiny, simple with serrate margins, and dark green in color.

The flowers are pink with a red throat and pink floral tube, 4-5 inches across, single, and usually bloom most of the year in warmer areas. The flowers usually only stay open one day.

Fruit are oval capsules.

HARDINESS

It is hardy in USDA Zones 9 to 11 down to mid 20’s F if given some protection. The foliage is often damaged with frost.

LIGHT

Full sun for best flowering; it will tolerate some shade with fewer flowers and more leggy growth

SALT

Moderate Salt Spray Tolerance – it will tolerate some spray, but it is best to have more protection such as a fence or building as an additional barrier behind the first row of plantings or the first dunes.

Poor Soil Salt Water Tolerance – it’s risky for this plant to be put in a site where any salt water flooding may be present and it will not tolerate irrigation with salt water.

SOIL

It prefers fertile, slightly acid soil in the pH range of 5.5 to 6.5, but it will grow on a wide variety of well-drained soils. High alkaline soils may cause some micronutrient deficiencies. Heavy clay soils may bring more root rot problems in excessively wet years.

WATERING

It has poor to moderate drought tolerance once established, so it will tend to look a little better and flower more with irrigation in dry spells. It doesn’t like wet feet.

PROPAGATION

Softwood tip cuttings in late spring/summer; under mist with a rooting hormone will root in 4 to 6 weeks; air layering done in the summer

PRUNING

Pinch to encourage bushiness and more flowers; prune as needed to control shape and size; excessive pruning reduces flowering; with freeze damaged plants, cut back to live wood after danger of additional freezes has passed

FERTILIZING

It has no special fertilizer needs. Unless a soil test suggests otherwise, a slow-release balanced analysis fertilizer with trace elements applied per the product label will work. Some scholars say that lower phosphorus amounts should be applied to prevent a buildup of phosphorus or phosphorus pollution – again, a soil test will help in that decision. Hibiscus plants are generally heavier feeders than some other plants.

PESTS

Saddleback Caterpillar; Brown Marmorated Stink Bug; Hibiscus Midge; Pink Hibiscus Mealybug; Melon Aphid or Cotton Aphid; Japanese Beetle; Citrus Longhorned Beetle; Fuller Rose Beetle; Leaffooted Bug; Papaya Mealybug; Blossom Midge; Io Moth; Root Knot Nematodes; Black Thread Scale; Lobate Lac Scale; Soft Brown Scale, Coccus hesperidum; Southern Red Mite; Hibiscus Erineum Mite; False Spider Mite, Brevipalpus californicus; Red and Black Flat Mite; Greenhouse Whitefly; Sweetpotato Whitefly B Biotype of Silverleaf Whitefly; Banded Winged Whitefly; Melon Thrips; Brown Garden Snail  

DISEASES

Cercospora Leaf Spot, Powdery Mildew, Downy Mildew, Choanephora Blight, Xanthomonas Leaf Spot, Root Rots - (including Armillaria, Erwinia, Phytophthora, Pythium, Rhizoctonia, Sclerotium); Anthracnose; Bacterial Leaf Spot; Hollyhock Rust; Botrytis Blight or Gray Mold; Fusarium; Curvularia 

DEER

Mostly tolerant, but occasional damage

Deer are obviously not a concern in the heart of the metropolis. Rural residents and those living in developed housing projects that are near large natural habitats may want to consider some protection if many deer have been seen in the area.

There are very few totally “deer-proof” plants. There are also, relatively speaking, few plants that are considered a preferred food supply of deer. Most plants fall in the big gap between. One of the biggest variables is the available preferred food supply in a given area. If their preferred food is scarce, they will munch on most anything.

OTHER

Good butterfly and hummingbird plant

USES

Specimen plant, tropical effect, tree standard, mass planting, foundation plant, containers, hedge – though flowering is reduced with excessive shearing

TOXICITY

A search of California Poison Control, ASPCA, Texas A&M University, Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System, University of Wisconsin, Poisonous Houseplants and Ornamentals - Merck Vet Manual, Purdue University - Guide to Toxic Plants in Forages, Poisonous Plants of the Southeastern United States - Alabama Cooperative Extension, Florida Poison Control, University of California, North Carolina State University, and The Cat Fanciers Association did not show this plant on any of their lists.