I'm always on the hunt for heat—and drought-tolerant species that "take care of themselves." While many hibiscus do require supplemental moisture and can be plagued with pests (particularly deer and caterpillars), I've chosen 3 of my most durable, trouble-free favorites.
The hibiscus family is vast and includes some edible relatives and ornamentals. Cotton, okra, and the notoriously stinky durian fruit are all apparently in the same family! Though I just recently learned about durian from Chih! In general, members of the Malvaceae (Hibiscus family) have distinct flowers with a cylindrical tube of stamens surrounding the central pistil (female).
I grow just a handful of hardy hibiscus in my garden, but perhaps my favorite is the white-flowered form of Hibiscus coccineu, or Texas star hibiscus. This is just like the familiar red version, except that the flowers are white, and the stem is more of a pure green rather than the darker, reddish pigment of the classic H. coccineus. Also called "swamp" hibiscus, these plants grow best in full sun with plenty of moisture. In most years, average rainfall is adequate, and I rarely have to water them. But they will only attain the 10ft. size plus in moist soils.
The second "hibiscus-like" plant I'd like to highlight is a more compact and bushy genus that spreads and can form large "colonies" over time. Malvaviscus drummondii, or Texas Turk's cap, is a drought-tolerant shrub, somewhat reminiscent of lantana in form. It produces distinct flowers that remain loosely fused with a prominent fused pistil/stamens protruding out. This is also called manzanilla (Little Apple) because of the bright red edible fruits. Turk's caps come in at least 3 different color forms: red, pink, and white. I have both the red and the pink, but I'm desperate for the white! These are fun to grow and easy to root and share with your friends!
Lastly, I'd like to mention the seashore mallow or salt-pink mallow. Its weird scientific name, Kosteletzkya pentacarpos, sounds rather pretentious when pronounced!
Seashore mallow is a bushy plant, and its flowers look more like miniature hibiscus rather than the oddly shaped Turk's cap. Despite its native range and common name, it has proven to be very adaptable at my mom's house in Hillsboro, Ga. The foliage is also attractively bluish and rarely attacked by bugs, unlike most other hibiscus! Unfortunately, deer love this plant, so you might want to protect these with a wire cage in deer-infested yards.
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