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The 'changeable rose'
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Hibiscus mutabilis, commonly referred to as `changeable rose' has showy flowers, thus making the perennial ideal for a mixed shrubbery.
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HIBISCUS MUTABILIS is a large perennial shrub with only a few straight branches. The green branches become woody with age and then the plant acquires the look of a small tree. In the early cold weather the plant produces single or double white flowers (10-12 cms in diameter) that change to pink and dark pink in the course of the day.
Hibiscus mutabilis, commonly called the `changeable rose', comes from South China. In the United States the plant is known as the `confederate rose' or the `cotton rose'.
Some gardeners feel that the plant has a coarse look when the flowers are not in bloom. The leaves are cordate, three to five lobed, toothed and hairy. Flowers are borne on the axils of leaves. The individual flowers last only a day.
The plant prefers high humidity and a porous soil. It is host to some troublesome insects like scales and aphids. Manual removal of insects, though cumbersome, is a better method to maintain the health of the plant.
Proper trimming after flowering is recommended for a second flush of flowering and to keep the plant in shape during the non-flowering season.
The plant is propagated through seeds and cuttings. Seed raised plants have a tendency to produce only single flowers.
Being a large shrub, with a good number of showy flowers, Hibiscus mutabilis is space filler and a colourful plant for the last row of a mixed shrubbery.
CHITRA RADHAKRISHNAN
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