Hibiscus 'French Vanilla' PP 33,181
French Vanilla Hardy Mallow
Item #: 16573
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 48" tall
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Hibiscus 'French Vanilla' is a long-sought flower color break...the first hardy hibiscus hybrid with a yellow-blushed flower. If you grew Hibiscus 'Old Yella' and couldn't detect a bit of yellow unless you sprayed the flowers with lemon juice, here's what most of us expected. The flower buds on this 2020 Walters Gardens introduction are a nice buttery yellow, opening to 8" wide pale yellow before aging to pure white, with a burgundy throat. For us, the 4' tall x 3.5' wide, compact, well-branched clumps are laden with flowers from June through September.
Maintenance:
Hibiscus 'French Vanilla' is a very low maintenance perennial, provided they are growing in the proper conditions. When the plants go dormant in winter, the stalks remain upright and sturdy. We prefer to leave them to give birds a place to perch. The structure also helps the garden remain much more interesting in winter than a flat carpet of brown mulch.
Hibiscus sawfly is the #1 pest of most hibiscus, causing skeletonized leaves. These can be treated with a beneficial bacteria product like Dipel, which contains BT bacillus.
Growing Conditions:
Hibiscus like 'French Vanilla' grow naturally in standing shallow water, although they are quite drought tolerant for short period. The drier the soil, the more the plants will be stressed, which increases the severity of insect damage.
Garden Value:
Perennial hardy hibiscus add an upright garden form to the garden, as well as summer flowering when many spring perennials have finished flowering or gone dormant.Also, there are few plants with such a floral show that tolerates wet soil.
Natural Impacts:
Bees are the primarily pollinators of all of the herbaceous, hardy hibiscus.
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Other Attributes
Genus: Hibiscus
Flower Color: White/Cream , Yellow/Gold
Leaf Color: Green
Bloom Time: Summer
Container Role: Thrillers
Garden Themes: Chocolate Garden , Cottage Garden Plants , Night Gardens
Other: Bog Garden Plants , Butterfly Attracting Plants , Edimentals , Cut Flower Plants , Hummingbird Plants , Pollinator Plants , North American Native Plants , Ornamental Seed or Fruit , Plants that Attract Birds , Rabbit Resistant Plants , Rain Garden Plants , Salt Tolerant Seaside Plants , Tropical Looking Plants , United States Native Plants