Dig into Plants: Swamp Rose-mallow


Swamp Rose-mallow

Other Common Names: Pink Swamp Hibiscus, Large-flowered Hibiscus  

Scientific Name: Hibiscus grandiflorus

Native to Alabama: Yes
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Learn more about...
 
Basic Information
Classification Button
Maintenance
Adaptations Button
Plant ID
Life Cycle
 


  
Basic Plant Information
 
Wikimedia
Mackenzie
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  • I am a vascular plant with no woody stems above ground, so I am herbaceous.
  • I do not keep leaves year-round, so I am deciduous.
  • I die back in winter but regrow in spring for many seasons, so I am perennial.
  • I can grow 5 - 15 feet high and 2 - 4 feet wide.
 
















 

  
Ecological Benefits
 
This plant provides food for:
Butterflies Native Bees Other Pollinators
  Specialist: Rose-mallow Bee  
     
 
Hummingbirds Other Birds  
     
Other Plants Found in Alabama with Similar Ecological Benefits:
 
Crimson-eyed Rose-mallow
(Hibiscus moscheutos)		 Woolly Rose-mallow
(Hibiscus lasiocarpos)		 Smooth Rose-mallow
(Hibiscus laevis)
     
Scarlet Rose-mallow
(Hibiscus coccineus)		 Rose of Sharon
(Hibiscus syriacus)		  
   
     
 

   
Maintenance Notes
 
  • Dormant in winter.
  • Flowers can be cut for an indoor vase.
  • Dead stalks can be removed in late winter.
  • Remove old flowers before they form seedheads or prune plants back by 1/3 after a flush of bloom is finished to encourage rebloom. 
  • Keep mulch from touching the stems to prevent Southern stem blight. 
  • When watering, hold hose to base of plant for a count of 5 seconds.  Water should reach all roots.
  • Avoid sprinkling water on the leaves.
  • Requires moist to wet soil at all times.
Moist to wet soil at all times: water three times per week.
 
  

  
Habitat Requirements
 
This plant prefers:
Full Sun
(6+ hours of sun per day)
 
Part Sun/ Shade
(2-6 hours of sun per day)
 
Prefers wet to moist
soils at all times
 Well-drained, Sandy, Loamy, Clay, or Moist Soil

    
   
  
Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification
 
LEAF DESCRIPTION
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Leaf Characteristics Chart (JPG)
       
Shape:
Deltoid to heart-shaped		 Margin:
Entire/Smooth
  		 Arrangement:
Alternate
  		 Form:
Simple
  
 
   
Description:
grayish-green and velvety (top and bottom of leaf are hairy); 3-5 shallow lobes; up to 10 inches long and wide; greenish-reddish hair stems

   
 
  
 
FLOWER DESCRIPTION
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Flower Shapes Chart (JPG)
       
Color:
White, red, pink		 Shape:
Funnelform
 
 Bloom Months:
Mar - Sep
       
Description:
Flowers have 5 overlapping pink petals that are reddish-purple at the base; flowers can be up to 10 inches wide and are one of the largest in North America; blooms open at night and last for one day
 
  
 
SEED DESCRIPTION
Flickr
Dani Tinker
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Type:
Fruit -
Dry Seed Pod		 Description:
fruit is dry, hairy capsule that releases rounded, velvety, brown/ copper seeds		 Months in Seed:
Summer - Fall 
     
Plant spreads by:
Seeds 
       
 
 
 
Plant Life Cycle

Plant Life Cycle:
  • All plants start life as a seed.
  • The seed turns into a sprout when it grows roots.
  • The sprout becomes a seedling as grows a stem and leaves above the ground.
  • After the seedling becomes an adult plant it will grow flowers.
  • After the flowers finish blooming, each flower turns into a seed.
  • When the seeds fall down to the ground, the plant life cycle starts again.
  • Each seed can become a plant if it has the food, water and space that it needs to grow.
  General Plant Life Cycle - Dreamstime
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS

 
Quick Fact Sheet
(Condensed Species Info)		 Plant ID Sign:
Ready as-is PDF		 Plant ID Sign:
Editable Word Doc		 QR Code
(Links to this Webpage)



  

INFORMATION SOURCES FOR THIS PLANT

 
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Logo
  
Missouri Botanical Gardens Logo 2019
Alabama Plant Atlas Logo
  
 
 


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