I've seen it growing around the big fountain at the San Antonio Botanical Garden. I have more pictures somewhere. It is gorgeous with robust, wonderful healthy foliage and lots of flowers! Look at all those buds. Go for it.

Joey could tell us if it's still there and perhaps how it fared last winter.

Would also love to know if anyone is growing it in their yards. The SABG has produced it's own warmer microclimate.

Nice! I'll try it. I think I have a spot for it!

I forgot about this beauty!
I had it for a couple of years at least 8 years ago. I put in my greenhouse and lost it one year. Probably got too cold in a corner. But what a joy it was when I had it! Go for it!

It is a beauty! I even went outside to see if we had room for it, but we don't. We have the smaller version and we absolutely love it. We left our smaller version out all Winter and we didn't lose it.... so glad about that! We would love to see pics of yours and how large it gets when you get one. Thanks for the photo.

I have this plant in the front of my house. It's at least 50 years old and does get really big, up to the eaves of the house. It also spreads slowly underground so you can have new plants popping up several feet away from the parent plant. It also roots easily from cuttings. It has never frozen completely back but last year the top third of the plants got nipped which was strange since the years we had ice hanging from it barely fazed it. We don't mulch it or cover it and barely water it since it is so well established it just keeps doing its thing without any help from us. The old folks used to call it Christmas bells since it will bloom even in the winter and the flowers do sort of resemble bells. We live in an old neighborhood just southeast of downtown, so I don't know how it will perform in a more northerly climate. Hope this helps.

Sorry, I meant to add south of downtown San Antonio.

Lou....I've been thinking of this all rainy day. When it rains I start thinking...what's one more pot... or two
smiles
c

Isn't this what Greg Grant crossed the native (malvaviscus drummondii) with for 'Big Momma'? Flowers don't seem as big, are more upright, and tighter like m. drummondii, but should be a zone or more hardier.

I planted two of these eight years ago in a little garden bordered by two steel walls and one cedar shingle wall. The Antique Rose Emporium, where I purchased them, was disparaging of the possibility that I would be able to grow anything in an area of irregular sun exposure, high heat, etc. They have grown beautifully, although after a protracted freeze this past winter, I feared that I had lost them. They are full and lush now. We do have the smaller Turk's Caps growing wildly elsewhere on the property, so I guess that should have been a clue about their potential. I think this is sort of 8b, but we have Spanish moss growing here, and no one else whom I know here has that.

It is Mexican turks cap. Malvaviscus arboreus var. mexicanus. It is hardy to Z 8b (15F) . They do great in Austin but mine that I brought out here struggled, but then I did not baby them in the transition. I think they will need a slightly richer soil and a tad more agua than the texas ones. They are also called sleeping hibiscus. Mine in Austin got very large compared to the other variety. It grows from a central point not from stolons. They can bloom quite late in the season also. I loved them . they come in Red , pink and white. I do think that they have been using them to mess with other texas variety to a good effect. I would give them a protected spot and do some winter mulching for where you live. I am thinking of trying them again and doing some cuddling this time.

I put it into raw soil under oak trees originally. It was not good enough and I did not water it to establish it enough either. I treated it like I treated plants going into my very fertile in town clay based loam that had been worked for 100 years. It has been 10 years of me working the soil more. I also lost my shrimp plant that I brought out. I just saw the shrimp plant making a show after 12 years underground.. Maybe the turks cap will pop up . LOL.

I saw them on sale at $1.99 today at Barton Springs Nursery. Hurry up if you want to get some. While I was there I saw a customer purchasing 9 of them.

Omar

That is where I always see them and where I got mine years ago.I will be in town tomorrow. It will be tempting me as I drive down Bee Caves Road on my delivery.

Lou, I have this growing at my house just west of San Antonio. So far, the freezes have not bothered it.

I succumbed.

Wunnerful! ... :-)

OK GUYS, here we go into the plant merry go round.. I think there are two plants that may be synonyms BUT that have two DG entries that do not list them as such and they have slightly different descriptions but both go by similar common names... WHY do they do this to us. another name for Mexicana Turks cap is Malvaviscus penduliflorus and M. arboreus var penduliflorus⦠Earlier we stated it as M arboreus var mexicana that has listed several synonyms but not the one I mentioned. There are a few differences in the description . The M. Penduliflorus is stated at Z9 not Z8b(not a big difference). The M. a. var mexicana is listed as being alkaline tolerant but the M. penduliflorous like acid. One likes part shade and one like sun. Since DG is Peer gardening and fewer people entered info on the M. p. it could just be a reflection of the the participants. I am officially confused. Nothing new. I seem to get a certain amount of glee out of my pondering in circles. So there you go. I was sold a Mexican turks cap and I really do not know which it is. We are sitting astride a grey line and it is uncomfortable.

Whatever it is is now cut back and I am rooting the trimmings.

This post was edited by wantonamara on Wed, Jun 25, 14 at 11:53

I have Mexican turks cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. mexicanus) both in pink and in red. The red one has grown to approximately 7 to 8 feet each summer and the pink one tops out at about 5 feet. Both plants are 9 or 10 years old and would be taller, but the foliage sustains winter damage and I usually cut them down to the ground, allowing them to return from the base. Both of these plants are fall/winter bloomers for me and have never bloomed earlier than september. The red one is beautiful during the Christmas season if an early frost doesn't damage the blooms. A friend gave me a cutting of the red shrub and her plant is in a protected area, seldom freezes, and is about 10 ft x 10 ft.
Molly

wantonamara, It you got them at Barton Springs (or other good nursery), someone there can likely tell you over the phone which variety they sold you. They've done this a couple times for us after our return to DFW with a larger selection of plants than we had intended to buy.

I have Turk's Cap, variety "Big Momma". I live south of Houston in Zone 9a and this plant gets huge when we have a mild winter. In areas where it gets colder, it is more controllable because it will freeze to the ground. Last winter was very mild and my plants are now 8 ft tall and 6 ft wide, and have outgrown the space provided for them. So plant it with caution in areas where you do not get hard freezes. That being said, it does have nice red blooms and the hummingbirds go crazy over it.

I used to see one at a house near here. Not sure if it's still there. I haven't noticed it in a couple of years.

I noticed that one that I planted a couple of years ago is blooming. I think I will heavily much it and wrap it and see if that helps. I piled compost on it this spring too. I guess that made a difference. I sure would like to find the pink ones.

Oh! that is gorgeous!

Makes me want one.

It we have it at the Botanical Gardens and it survived January/February '14.

I have had this one for 15 years and it survived the low teens that we had in 2011. It is root hardy here. I mulch heavily with leaves or pine straw. This is another view. The only problem is that it is always in full bloom when first frost arrives so my bloom season is shortened

Molly

Almost Eden shows to have Malvaviscus penduliflorus in stock.

They also have a pink and white one.