Overall plant
Common Name: striped rosemallow
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Malvaceae
Native Range: Texas, Central America, northern South America
Zone: 7 to 9
Height: 7.00 to 10.00 feet
Spread: 3.00 to 4.00 feet
Bloom Time: May to August
Bloom Description: Purplish-pink
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium to wet
Maintenance: Medium
Flower: Showy
Attracts: Butterflies
Tolerate: Deer, Wet Soil
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium to wet soils in full sun. Tolerates some light shade, but full sun with good air circulation produces best flowers, strongest stems and the best environment for resisting potential diseases. Site in locations protected from wind to minimize the risk of wind burn. Best in moist, organically rich soils (preference for wetlands in native habitat), but does surprisingly well in average garden soils as long as those soils are not allowed to dry out. Regular deep watering is advisable. Plants die to the ground in cold winters but are vigorous rapid growers in spring.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Hibiscus striatus, commonly called striped rosemallow, is an herbaceous perennial or subshrub that is native to Cuba and Central America.
Subsp. lambertianus has a very limited native habitat that is restricted to to marshes and ditches in a few locations along the Gulf Coast of Texas near Tivoli. It typically grows to 7-10’ tall and to 3-4’ wide. This subspecies is synonymous with and formerly known as Hibiscus lambertianus and Hibiscus cubensis. Plants feature narrow, arrowhead-shaped, velvety, gray-green leaves with truncate bases (to 6” long), spiny stems and a May to August bloom of large, showy, purplish-pink flowers (to 5” across) with overlapping petals. Each flower has a prominent creamy white to pale yellow central staminal column.
Subspecies name supposedly honors English botanist Aylmer Bourke Lambert (1761-1842).
Genus name is the old Greek and Latin name for mallow.
Specific epithet comes from the Latin word striatus meaning striped.
Hibiscus striatus, commonly called striped rosemallow, is an herbaceous perennial or subshrub that is native to Cuba and Central America.
Subsp. lambertianus has a very limited native habitat that is restricted to to marshes and ditches in a few locations along the Gulf Coast of Texas near Tivoli. It typically grows to 7-10’ tall and to 3-4’ wide. This subspecies is synonymous with and formerly known as Hibiscus lambertianus and Hibiscus cubensis. Plants feature narrow, arrowhead-shaped, velvety, gray-green leaves with truncate bases (to 6” long), spiny stems and a May to August bloom of large, showy, purplish-pink flowers (to 5” across) with overlapping petals. Each flower has a prominent creamy white to pale yellow central staminal column.
Subspecies name supposedly honors English botanist Aylmer Bourke Lambert (1761-1842).
Problems
Some susceptibility leaf spots, blights, rusts and canker. Japanese beetles, whiteflies and aphids are occasional insect visitors. Japanese beetles can severely damage foliage if left unchecked. Leaf scorch will occur if soils are allowed to dry out. Healthy plants grown in the proper environment usually do not need staking.
Uses
Useful in low spots or wet areas in the landscape. Effective along streams or ponds.