Hibiscus x Summerific® 'Berry Awesome' (Rose Mallow)

Summerific® 'Berry Awesome' is a hardy hybrid Hibiscus cultivar that grows to a compact size of 3-4' tall and 4-5' wide with a dense, shrub-like habit. Already known for its attractive, dinner plate-sized flowers, this Hibiscus selection ups the ante with lavender-pink, ruffled flowers and berry-purple center eyes. Summerific® 'Berry Awesome' typically blooms from mid to late summer, with mature plants opening more and more blooms throughout this window. In addition to its eye-catching blooms, the 'Berry Awesome' cultivar is also well-regarded for its purple-toned green foliage, adding a pop of color to garden spaces even when not in bloom.

Since this cultivar reaches a consistent size time after time, 'Berry Awesome' is an excellent choice for wetland restoration and pond plantings, and for open garden beds and ornamental hedges; in fact, 'Berry Awesome' will thrive in almost any garden space where it can attract a number of pollinators, butterflies, and even hummingbirds. Although native to swampy areas, rose mallow will also do very well in the home garden if kept consistently moist; unlike many other common rose mallows, Summerific® 'Berry Awesome' can handle full sun and partial shade while still producing grgeous floral displays.

Though Summerific® 'Berry Awesome' is a hybrid cultivar, the swamp rose mallows in the Summerific® series are the results of several generations of cross-breeding between the species Hibiscus moscheutos (native to Maryland), Hibiscus laevis (also native to Maryland), and Hibiscus coccineus (native to the American southeast as far north as Virginia).

(Flower photo courtesy of Proven Winners)