Summerific® Candy Crush Hibiscus

Light Needs

Partial Sun to Full Sun

(At Least 5 Hours of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

4-4.5 Feet

Mature Spread

4-4.5 Feet

Growing Zones

4 to 9

Bright pink 8 inch wide blooms with a dark red/black eye appear all over the bright green foliage, lending a tropical feel to this large perennial shrub-like flower. Depending on your climate zone, flowers can bloom anywhere from late spring to early summer and extend until late summer. Its parent plant, H. moscheutos, is a swamp mallow, growing best in wet, rich soils typically found on the edge of ponds, streams, and yes, swamps. This Hibiscus hybrid borrows the hardiness of its parent and refines it to be able to be included in your garden, (imagine these alongside some beautiful hollyhocks) or as a specimen plant in your landscape. Either way, you are going to love this beautiful bubblegum pink, big as a dinner plate hibiscus for your garden this spring!

Native to North America, H. moscheutos grows in Zones 5-9. Summerific Candy Crush, as a hybrid, improves the hardiness zone to include Zone 4, allowing the vast majority of the United States the ability to grow these lovely perennials. While its parent thrives as a bog plant, Summerific can thrive in any partial sunlight to full sun location that has well draining soil. It tolerates heat and humidity, poor to average soil and also performs well in cooler summer climates, blooming profusely shortly after it becomes established in your landscape. Its foliage and stem structure grow quickly, filling out with mounds of bright green leaves...and then it sets buds and the show begins!

Summerific® Candy Crush Hibiscus Care

Plant Summerific Candy Crush in full sun with some light shade in the afternoon, making sure to have at least 4 to 6 hours of sunshine. Remember, sun light fuels flower production. Hibiscus prefers an acidic soil, pH range of 6.0 to 6.5, but it tolerates a wide range of soil conditions, including slightly boggy. As with most native wildflowers, hibiscus does not need fertilizer. If your soil is particularly poor, add some well composted organic material to feed your plant and get a better result because of it. Too much fertilizer will weaken the stem structure. Water when rainfall is below one inch per week. This plant should not be allowed to dry out although it is much more tolerant than its parent plant to dry conditions.

Deadheading is not required for this lovely perennial, but you may want to remove spent flowers to clean the plant up a bit for visual appeal. After the summer bloom is done, cut back branches 3 to 4 inches to help it branch out and be ready for even more blooms the following summer. Although each individual flower only lasts one to two days when open, another flower will rapidly take its place, and keep the show going for you.

Summerific® Candy Crush Hibiscus Spacing

Space your hibiscus about 48 to 54 inches apart from other perennials to give room to grow and plenty of air circulation to promote good plant health. Summerific Candy Crush will grow up to 54 inches tall and wide when fully mature. Watch for aphids and thrips and wash with an insecticidal soap should they appear. Japanese beetles can be a pest to these beautiful flowers, as they appear about the same time as the flowers do. Control them by picking the bugs off and toss them to your chickens or koi fish for a tasty treat.