Hibiscus x 'JAZZBERRY JAM'

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. Jazzberry Jam is a variety preceding a very successful series bred by Clarnece H.Falstad from Walters Gardens in Michinagn, USA, and which included such inventions like Summer Storm, Cranberry Crush, or Plum Fantasy.

Jazzberry Jam swamp mallow is a stunning variety with large flowers, up to 25 cm wide, of rich magenta pink colour and ruffled margins. They come out from mid August atop very strong, almost 1.5m tall stems that do not bend in rain. The plants produce multiples of them year after year forming a bushy and dense shrub. Deciduous leaves are fresh green, narrowly ovate to shallowly 3-lobed with thin red veins, and turn yellow and orange 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. Hardy to min. 34°C (USDA zone 4). Cut back the plant only a few centimetres above ground level in spring.

Last update 06-08-2017