Rose mallow, or hardy hibiscus, comes in many varieties, all lending tropical flair to the perennial garden with huge disc flowers the size of dinner plates. Unlike tender tropical hibiscus, hardy hybrids stem from North American native mallows (H. moscheutos, H. laevis, and H. coccineus), with adaptability, durability, cold hardiness, and many unique colors.
Hardy hibiscus is exceedingly showy with large, tissuey disc flowers in pink, red, purple, and white shades, often with a contrasting scarlet throat. Its coarse foliage in deep green and purple-black is a rich backdrop to the bold blooms.
Flowers emerge from attractive buds in mid-summer through early fall. Although they open only for a day, the plants produce numerous blooms simultaneously for nonstop flowering. Rose mallow also adds vertical interest and floral and foliar contrast. The vigorous perennials produce a big show that lasts in the heat of summer with late-season interest.
Here are 17 gorgeous rose mallow varieties to feature in your perennial border, rain garden, cottage theme, native planting, bog, and anywhere that warrants high color. In addition to its elevated visual interest, it has pollinator-attracting flower power in a wide variety of colors.
Rose Mallow Overview
In the right growing conditions, hardy hibiscus are low-maintenance, easy-care growers. Rose mallows are hardy in USDA zones 4 or 5 through 9. They show the best flowering and stem strength in full sun, with at least six hours of sunlight daily. They also grow in partial shade.
These mallows prefer organically rich soils but adapt to various types given regular water. The moisture-loving plants grow naturally in wet areas. They withstand short dry spells but don’t adapt to prolonged drought, where they become stressed and susceptible to insect damage from Japanese beetles and hibiscus sawflies.
Rose mallow is ideal for planting in September to allow roots time to establish before winter temperatures. Give new plants a heavy layer of mulch for overwintering, and leave them standing. They provide winter interest with upright branching and perches for wildlife. Cut them back in the spring before new growth emerges. Fresh growth is slow to appear, but once it does, the fast-growers add up to an inch per day.
Scarlet Rose Mallow
Scarlet rose mallow, or Texas star hibiscus, features large scarlet flowers with five broad petals swirling around a showy central column of stamens. The red petals are more precisely cut and pointed than other mallows.
Texas star produces flowers on tall stalks lined with fine-textured leaves. Foliage is rich green and deeply palmate with serrated edges. For a white-flowering selection, look to ‘Swamp Angel.’ Discovered in Alabama, the tall native is a hummingbird favorite in pure white.
This mallow grows along roadside ditches, marshy areas, and wetland edges. It prefers moist soils but adapts to both wet and dry conditions. The native mallows withstand zone 5 winter temperatures with good insulation. Leave fading stems in place as plants enter dormancy for added protection.
‘Midnight Marvel’
‘Midnight Marvel’ is a favorite. It is striking, with crimson blooms bouncing off dark foliage. The high contrast includes black-red buds that open to massive eight-to ten-inch red flowers with yellow stamens. Maple-shaped leaves in violet and olive green reach nearly one foot long.
‘Midnight Marvel’ has a mounding, relatively compact habit with a good branching structure. Buds occur along the length of the stems for a heavy succession of all-over blooms.
A hybrid of dark-leaved and red-flowering varieties, foliage color is richest in full sun. The fall color is vibrant orange.
‘All Eyes on Me’
‘All Eyes on Me’ has papery pale pink petals with brushed cerise red centers. The billowy petals overlap heavily and cover the compact plants. Simultaneous pretty-in-pink buds and eight-inch discs appear among dark green foliage from top to bottom.
This variety is part of the Summerific® series from Walters Gardens, the expert perennial breeders responsible for many of the top hardy hibiscus cultivars we enjoy today. The plants are full, vigorous, and loaded with buds.
‘All Eyes on Me’ has an attractive, rounded habit. The delicate-looking beauty is hardy to zone 4.
‘Lord Baltimore’
‘Lord Baltimore’ is a stately specimen and a favorite since its introduction in 1955. Upright and shrubby, this classic, reliable rose mallow variety bears 10-inch-wide crimson flowers that are slightly ruffled and satiny.
The handsome petals unfurl from large, conical maroon buds. Deeply lobed, serrated leaves are dark green with a coarse texture, held by reddish-brown stems.
‘Lord Baltimore’ is woody at its base. The columnar variety has tall branching and grows two to three feet wide.
‘Cookies and Cream’
This bright little selection bears crisp white disks amidst purple-black leaves. It has good foliar contrast in color and texture among other blooming perennials, even when not yet in flower early in the season.
Buds cover this dwarf variety, which is early to flower with an extended season. The slightly cupped white blooms reach six to seven inches across. The pure blooms don’t have the red throat of other types and show creamy yellow stamenal columns.
Petal reverses have blush pink tips, which are also noticeable at the bud stage. Light green calyxes persist post-bloom for elevated interest among the buds, flowers, and dark leaves.
As with other purple-leaved hybrid rose mallow varieties, increased sun exposure brings richer leaf coloration. ‘Cookies and Cream’ is a Summerific® hybrid hardy to zone 4.
‘Lilac Crush’
‘Lilac Crush’ is another in the Summerific® series variety that brings a unique color to the world of rose mallows. Thick, lavender-blue petals surround a scarlet central eye and yellow stamens.
The huge eight-inch blossoms are lovely among true green maple-shaped leaves. The plants are tall, upright, and columnar with sturdy branching.
‘Lilac Crush’ overwinters in zone 4 with good insulation. It shows cooler blue tones in lower summer temperatures.
Swamp
Swamp hibiscus is a native North American species that grows along streambanks, moist woodlands, swamps, and marshes across the eastern seaboard and central U.S. A vigorous, rounded, sturdy species, H. moscheutos works well in low spots, bogs, and wet areas.
From July to September, it yields four to six-inch flowers with white and pink overlapping petals. A reddish-purple throat and prominent stamens punctuate the blossoms. At peak bloom, plants may have as many as 20 flowers per day.
Swamp hibiscus grows best in moist, organically rich to average soils. Its seeds float on water as a way of dispersal.
‘Cherry Choco Latte’
This decadent hybrid brims with large eight to nine-inch flowers whose petals create a tapestry of pink and white. Deep pink veining spreads among the white from a fuchsia eye.
The cherry-on-top flowers brighten the purple-bronze foliage. ‘Cherry Choco Latte’ is compact and useful for fitting in various spaces beyond the back of the border.
It has improved flower form, habit, and darker foliage than its predecessor ‘Cherry Cheesecake,’ another delicious creamy white and pink beauty. This Summerific® is cold-hardy to zone 4.
‘Disco Belle Rosy Red’
This rich, pink-red, velvety flower graces a dwarf mallow habit perfect for tucking into small spaces and containers. With a glowing rose center and creamy pale yellow staminal columns, blooms have deep ruby petal edges.
The giant saucers of ‘Disco Belle Pink’ boast bubblegum shades that fade to white. The Disco series also has a fresh white hybrid with a cerise center. The series overwinters in zone 4.
‘Halberdleaf’
H. laevis is a native species with erect green stems and pink and white blooms. It occurs naturally in southeastern Canada and the eastern and central U.S.
This perennial is an excellent choice for pollinator gardens, wetland margins, or moist woodland edges. It is a host plant for the gray hairstreak butterfly and straight-lined mallow moths.
Fresh green leaves have three lobes and serrated edges. The species propagates through seed, whereas hybrids propagate vegetatively to produce replicas of their parent plants. Halberdleaf is hardy to zone 4.
‘Ballet Slippers’
This sweet hybrid has ruffled white petals with lilac-pink highlights. The petals fan around a brilliant red throat with a heavy overlap, creating a pinwheel of bright white and blush.
Broad, light green leaves have serrate margins. ‘Ballet Slippers’ has an upright, well-branched habit that houses multiple buds along each axial stem.
‘Luna Red’
‘Luna’ is a dinner plate hibiscus with big rounds on a small form. ‘Red’ brings dramatic color with thick, textured petals.
Plants have dense branching and broad, olive-green leaves. The series includes red, rose, white, pink, and pink swirl, bred to deliver compact plants with prolific buds and enormous blossoms. All have giant flowers and extra tropical flair.
‘Edge of Night’
‘Edge of Night’ has onyx foliage contrasting its cotton-candy pink petals. The eight-inch saucers have sculptural appeal, with uniform overlapping and dark red-pink venation for a shadowy dimensional effect.
Bright green calyxes linger after flowering in a dynamic mix of light and dark contrasts. Perhaps the darkest-leaved hybrid, ‘Edge of Night’ grows best in full sun for bold color.
‘Mocha Moon’
From the edge of night, we move to ‘Mocha Moon,’ with cups of pure white petals and painterly crimson centers. Maple-leaf foliage is leathery in bronze and mahogany.
‘Mocha Moon’ is vigorous and bushy with good rounding. Its compact size and upright branches accommodate small spaces and potted arrangments.
Lime green sepals persist and stand out in the darkness for more of that mallow contrast the garden needs.
Hairy-Fruited
Hariy-fruited hibiscus is a species mallow and large native wildflower. Its original growing range is the southeastern U.S., where it naturalizes in wet soils and forms colonies in ditches and moist woods.
H. lasiocarpus has large white or pink blooms with dark magenta eyes atop upright stems. Medium-green leaves are long with slightly toothed margins.
The leaves, stems, and seeds of hairy-fruited are, indeed, characteristically fuzzy. The species propagates through seed.
‘Berry Awesome’
‘Berry Awesome’ brings a color variation with plates in plum purple with magenta eyes. The textured crepe paper petals are ready for a tropical party.
‘Berry Awesome’s clumping habit has uniform shaping and branching. Use this exotic-looking rose mallow variety as a shrub replacement to stand out among other greens. The foliage is dark olive and purple, and limey calyces add pops of color.
Velvet
H. grandiflorus is a unique native species with maple leaves flocked in velvety gray. In late summer, distinct pale pink petals reach ten inches wide. Hairy seed pods persist through winter for extended interest and forage for birds. Native bees flock to the summer blossoms.
Velvet hardy mallow is native to the Southeastern U.S. and grows in marshy, brackish areas. With a decreasing natural habitat, the natives are a good fit for boggy and wetland areas and naturalized gardens. They also adapt to dry spells.
The durable perennial rose mallow variety has a warmer range for best budding and flowering. It is hardy in zones 6 to 9. In optimal conditions, they may drop seeds that produce volunteers to share or to expand the colony.
