Hibiscus moscheutos 'Tahi12' CAROUSEL Pink Candy

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.

CAROUSEL^® is an attractive series of several swamp mallow cultivars bred by Alain Tan of French Montauban. Pink Candy is one of its varieties and is truly as sweet as its name. The flowers are 16-18 cm across, with a deep crimson red eye in the centre producing purple pink rays running throughout the white petals making the flowers look pink-white. They appear early in the season, already from early August until early autumn atop medium short stems reaching some 80 cm tall. Deciduous leaves are dark burgundy red to reddish brown, deeply lobed and finely dissected, and turn golden yellow and amber orange with purple pink veins and margins in autumn.

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. Hardiness has not been tested under all possible conditions but is expected to reach at least -27°C (USDA zone 5b). Cut back the plant only a few centimetres above ground level in spring.

Last update 06-08-2017