Hibiscus schizopetalus

RHS Plant Profile
Japanese hibiscus

Save a plant

Where do you want to save Hibiscus schizopetalus?

Plants I own
Wishlist
Go to My Plants
Japanese hibiscus RHS

Other common names

Japanese lantern

Conservatory Greenhouse Shrubs Houseplants

An erect evergreen or semi-evergreen shrub, to 3-4m, with slender arching to drooping branches. Leaves are simple, ovate-elliptic, to 12cm long. Flowers are pendulous on long thin stalks, bright orange-red with deeply-cut, reflexed petals and the staminal tube strikingly projecting

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Loam

Max Height

2.5-4 metres

Max Spread

1-1.5 metres

Size

Time to Maturity
5–10 years
Max Spread
1-1.5 metres
Max Height
2.5-4 metres

Growing Conditions

Loam
Moisture
Moist but well–drained or Well–drained
pH
Acid or Neutral

Position

Full sun
Aspect
South–facing or East–facing
Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

  • H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
  • H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
  • H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
  • H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
  • H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
  • H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
  • H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
  • H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
  • H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)
H1B

Colour & Scent

Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Malvaceae
Native to GB/Ireland
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Bushy
Genus
Hibiscus can be deciduous or evergreen shrubs, trees, annuals or perennials, with simple or palmately lobed leaves and large, funnel-shaped flowers over a long flowering season
Name Status
Correct
Plant Range
E Tropical Africa

How to Grow

Cultivation

Grow in a moist but well-drained soil in a sheltered position in full sun

Propagation

Propagate by semi-hardwood cuttings or semi-ripe cuttings or greenwood cuttings

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • Sub-tropical

Pruning

Pruning group 1

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids, scale insects, mealybugs and glasshouse whitefly when grown under glass

Diseases

May be susceptible to honey fungus (rarely) and powdery mildews