The Red Darling® Hibiscus, otherwise known as the Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis ‘Hiroshi1’ or Rose of Sharon ‘Aphrodite’, Shrub Althea ‘Aphrodite’, Hibiscus ‘Aphrodite’, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Red Darling® Hibiscus Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Red Darling® Hibiscus can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Red Darling® Hibiscus prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
- Light: Keep your Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis ‘Hiroshi1’ in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Red Darling® Hibiscus in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Red Darling® Hibiscus this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Red Darling® Hibiscus belongs to the Malvaceae family, the genus Hibiscus and the species Syriacus, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis ‘Hiroshi1’ (hi-BIS-kus ROH-zuh si-NEN-sis).
As with other Hibiscus’s, the Red Darling® Hibiscus is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
The Red Darling® Hibiscus is a plant native to the S. China and Taiwan.
You might be wondering why your Red Darling® Hibiscus’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis ‘Hiroshi1’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 8 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5a, 5b, 6b, 6a, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9b, 9a and the ideal climate zone is between 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, H1.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Red Darling® Hibiscus is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But what exactly does this mean for your Red Darling® Hibiscus? How large a pot should you consider, how tall, how wide can it get? Let’s jump in…
The Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis ‘Hiroshi1′ can grow up to 8′ – 12′ (240cm – 3.6m) in 8′ – 12′ (240cm – 3.6m) and 6′ – 10′ (180cm – 3m) in 6′ – 10’ (180cm – 3m).
These dimensions make the Red Darling® Hibiscus a relatively large shrub compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful rounded shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 120″ (300cm) free so the Red Darling® Hibiscus can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Red Darling® Hibiscus is a fairly simple plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis ‘Hiroshi1’ prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively low to average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Red Darling® Hibiscus in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, moist, occasionally dry, and occasionally wet properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
But, if you want a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to watering your Red Darling® Hibiscus then you should consider the famous ‘finger’ test. To perform this test, you just need to put your finger in your plant’s soil and determine if it’s moist or not. If it is, then don’t water; if it isn’t, then please do. In any case, this test will allow you to know if your Red Darling® Hibiscus needs or does not need water, every time.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Red Darling® Hibiscus prefers to have soil with good drainage, moist, occasionally dry, and occasionally wet properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably neutral to alkaline soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Red Darling® Hibiscus requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis ‘Hiroshi1’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Red Darling® Hibiscus will be present year round in your garden.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the summer (mid, late), and during the fall.
Flowers
You can expect your Red Darling® Hibiscus to flower around the spring and in the summer months from April to June (spring), and from July to September (summer).
In particular, this shrub is well known for its flowers for cutting and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Red Darling® Hibiscus produces some beautiful red, or purple/lavender, gold/yellowpink, and white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Red Darling® Hibiscus have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a alternate organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis ‘Hiroshi1’ to be around (3-6 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Red Darling® Hibiscus is well known for being able to attract hummingbirds and butterflies, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for clay soil, drought and animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis ‘Hiroshi1’ will be fine.
Garden
Now, let’s talk garden and how your Red Darling® Hibiscus will look best in it.
Most Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis ‘Hiroshi1’ owners agree that this shrub will look great in most tropical gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of city and courtyard, and in informal and cottage styles.
In particular, the Red Darling® Hibiscus’s best location within your garden is in hedges and screens, beds and borders, and in wall-side borders, others use it for landscaping in a coastal exposure, houseplant, privacy screen, border, espalier, specimen, cutting garden, container, hedge, or a urban garden.
Companion Plants
Red Darling® Hibiscus’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Lantana, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Musa will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
So that’s it! These are the main plant care requirements that you need to keep in mind in order to have a healthy Red Darling® Hibiscus in your garden or home.
