Common Name Biological Name Type Family Zone Height Spread Bloom Time Bloom Description Sun Water Maintenance Suggested Use Flower Attracts |
China rose Hibiscus mutabilis Deciduous shrub Rosaceae 6 to 9 3.00 to 6.00 feet 2.00 to 5.00 feet May to frost Yellow to orange to pink to red Full sun Medium Medium Hedge Showy, Fragrant Butterflies |
Best grown in medium moisture, slightly acidic, well-drained garden loams in full sun to part shade. Best flowering and disease resistance generally occur in full sun, however. Water deeply and regularly (mornings are best). Avoid overhead watering. Good air circulation promotes vigorous and healthy growth and helps control foliar diseases. Summer mulch helps retain moisture, keeps roots cool and discourages weeds. Remove spent flowers to encourage rebloom. Crowns need winter protection in cold winter areas. Remove and destroy diseased leaves from plants, as practicable, and clean up and destroy dead leaves from the ground around the plants both during the growing season and as part of a thorough cleanup during winter (dormant season). Prune as needed in late winter to early spring. Rosa is a genus of about 150 species of deciduous (occasionally evergreen) shrubs and climbers noted for their beautiful, often fragrant, single, semidouble or double flowers which are borne singly or in clusters on often prickly stems clad with 5-9 leaflets often having toothed margins. ‘Mutabilis’, a China rose, is a rounded, repeat-blooming, old garden shrub rose which grows 3-6′ tall (typically to 3′ in northern climates and taller in southern climates). Features clusters of slightly fragrant, single flowers (3″ diameter) which bloom in May and repeat throughout the summer into fall. Flowers change color (mutate as the cultivar name suggests) as they mature, opening yellow and changing to orange, pink and finally deep pinkish-red. Thus, a shrub in full bloom will feature a wide spectrum of flower colors. Medium green foliage and red stems. Orange hips will form if spent flowers are not deadheaded. Sometimes called butterfly rose because of the purported resemblance of the open flowers to butterflies. Synonymous with and formerly known as Rosa chinensis ‘Mutabilis’. |
Information on this page is generally from Missouri Botanical Gardens, Dave’s Garden, All things Plants or Texas Superstar |
Information on this page is from Missouri Botanical Gardens, Dave’s Garden, All things Plants, Texas Superstar or Aggie Horticulture |
This page last updated or reviewed [210805]