Hibiscus moscheutos 'OLD YELLA' swamp mallow, hardy hibiscus
size/type
mid-sized perennial,mid-sized perennial
usual height
0,8-1,3m
usual width
0,6-1m
leaves
deciduous broadleaf
colour of leaves
flowers
showy
colour of flowers
blooming time
August-September
location
full sun
USDA zone (lowest)
5 (down to -29°C)
winter protection
for zone 5+6
for zone 7
categorized
Swamp mallow and its hybrids have been sought after plants for the past few years now. They are perennials with sturdy stems that have large, tropically looking flowers. Old Yella is another variety bred by the Fleming brothers and Gretchen Zwetzig from Nebraska, USA, which resulted from a 40-year controlled breeding. Other successful varieties from the same breeding programme include Kopper King, Fireball, Plum Crazy, Robert Fleming, Fantasia, and Royal Gems. Most of them are crosses of hibiscus moscheutos and hibiscus coccineus, however, Old Yella has only hibiscus moscheutus in ancestry (cv. Bright Eye), still it boasts excellent hardiness.
Description of the plant:
Old Yella is a large-flowered hardy hibiscus from 1986. The flowers are creamy white, definitely not yellow as some manipulated internet photographs suggest, with a vibrant carmine red eye in the centre. They are huge, 23-25 cm across, and appear continuously from midsummer until the last sunny and warm days of early autumn. Deciduous leaves are shallowly lobed, mid green. Strong, sturdy stems are pale green, too, slightly over a meter tall. Patent No. PP13630 was issued in 2003.The plant is dependent on regular water and feed supply. Use fertilizers with enough phosphorus for abundant flowering, or any other quick-release fertilizers where nitrogen is not predominant. Any fertilizing has to stop by end September.
For healthy growth and profuse flowering it needs a sunny location with a lot of moisture which can be achieved by good mulching. The soil has to be fertile and permeable, never let it dry out in summer. Hardy to about -34°C (USDA zone 4). Cut back the plant only a few centimetres above ground level in spring. Mulching is needed to keep the soil moist all year round.
Last update 04-06-2012; 03-12-2018
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GLOSSARY
- STANDARD QUALITY - Plants of this group are 1st class quality with number of branches and overall density adequate to their size and age, considering they were container grown.
- DE LUXE QUALITY - This label guarantees a luxurious quality of manually selected plants that, compared to their height and age, are exceptionally dense and beautiful.
- EXTRA - These plants are usually mature and bigger specimens with exceptional overall appearance.
- STANDARD (as described in the plant form) means a tree with a trunk of 190-210 cm and a crown at the top, unless specified differently. The commercial size for trees is their girth measured in the height of 1m from ground.
- HOBBY - These plants are of the same quality as our standard-quality plants but younger and therefore cheaper.
- SHRUB - a woody plant with branches growing bushy from the ground level.
- HALF-STANDARD or MINI-STANDARD - a small tree with shorter trunk, its size is usually specified.
- FEATHERED - These are trees with branches growing already from the base of the trunk and up along the stem.
- GRASSES and PERENNIALS - Sizes given usually read the diameter of the pot or the clump, as specified.
