:: Hardy Hibiscus :: tropical flowers for your garden

And when it comes to heat, they can take whatever Mother Nature dishes out. Colors range from crimson, white, pink, rose, and in-between.

They are among the most spectacular and easily grown plants for use in the border. Following the spring and summer growing season, the plants freeze back to the ground each fall.

Old stems should be cut back to a height several inches above the ground. New shoots emerge by mid-spring, and the plants quickly develop handsome mounds of foliage and flowers by early summer.

Individual flowers last only a day, but each plant may flaunt several flowers at once. Few garden plants provide so much enjoyment for so little care.

Mulching the plants in winter prevents root injury during very cold weather. Old stems, if they freeze, should be pruned back to the ground in early spring. Even if frost damage has not occurred, it is still a good idea to prune back and shape the plants before growth begins.

Your garden is well planned if hardy types of hibiscus are considered for the back of flower borders where their impressive flowers can appear over other summer flowering plants. Gardeners and landscape professionals plant daylilies, lantana, gomphrena, zinnias, purslane, celosias or other summer annuals and perennials in front of their hardy hibiscus groupings.

The Hibiscus 'Pink Clouds', Hibiscus moscheutos, have an amazing large, intense, deep pink flower that can be seen from a long distance. This Hibiscus is a large '4-5' robust plant" that blooms over a very long period of time. Its mature leaves resemble that of the Norway Maple Tree. 'Pink Clouds' is a very hardy selection that goes well in the back drop of any landscape and is most impressive when planted in mass. It enjoys moist to wet soil conditions and loves the heat of summer.