In message , Keith Collett
writes
Stewart Robert Hinsley;855681 Wrote:
In message
,
DaveP writes-
On Jul 10, 7:34*am, Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:--
I wonder if it's actually H.sinosyriacus "Ruby Glow" ? A white flower
with a
red centre.--
-
I did wonder about that. (There's also a 'Ruby Dot', if it's
different,
with the same coloration).-
'Ruby Dot' is a moscheutos hybrid so I doubt it would be that,
although with stores like these....-
You can see how deeply (not) I dug into Google. (Probably I'd have
noticed if it was a Muenchhusia.)
-
'Ruby Glow' is probably a bit too
rare for it to appear amongst Aldi offerings, but I suppose it's not
completely beyond the bounds of possibility.-
The other two varieties that they have are 'Lady Stanley' and 'Jeanne
d'Arc', which is the first time I've seen the latter on sale.-
-
If I recall correctly, the label showed a single-red, but then label
images are not always representative of the plant being sold ....-
The 'sheds' and stores are notoriously incapable of getting names
correct as you've intimated and seem blissfully oblivious to the
importance of correct information on their labels. It's a fair bet
that their suppliers have packaged an unknown/lost label/seedling,
single red syriacus hybrid, decided that 'ruby red' sounds much better
(ie. more marketable) than 'red' and by the time it's reached the
labelling stage, hey presto Hibiscus 'Ruby' is born! There is a
sinensis hybrid of that name, but you'd have spotted its leaves
immediately.-
It's not just 'sheds' and stores. I've seen mislabelled plants in
nurseries and garden centres as well.
I bought two Sidalceas from a local garden centre once - one labelled
as
'Elsie Heugh' and the other as malviflora. They're both the same, and
are very close to 'Sussex Beauty' and 'Loveliness'. I've had two rather
different plants under the name of Sidalcea 'Brilliant' - one was a
slightly taller oregana-type, and the other is one of the sterile-ish
hybrids, similar in habit to 'Candy Girl'.
FWIW, the label shows a more intense red that 'Woodbridge', which is
the
standard single red.-
-
I had forgotten that 'Ruby Glow' was sinosyriacus. If I recall
correctly
sinosyriacus can be distinguished by the foliage, so I can look into
that.-
Well, if it turns out to have the paler, shallowly lobed leaves of
that hybrid, do let us know - I'll be over to the nearest Aldi like a
shot. I tried to get 'Ruby Glow' a year or two ago from PGP, but
they hadn't any to spare 
-
There were plants with paler leaves, but they were the 'Jeanne d'Arc'.
(Presumably the lack of pigment in the flowers - it's a single white -
is reflected in the foliage.)
The plants have disappeared remarkably quickly - I was back today, two
days later, and 90% of them had gone.
They're well grown plants - much bigger than the titchy plants that you
see in B&Q sometimes - but they've been pruned hard, so they may not
flower this year. But they're big enough I can consider taking
cuttings.
This brings me up to 18 varieties of Hibiscus syriacus, plus an
apparent
double sport of 'Hamabo' that I saw in (IIRC) Focus, and snapped up.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley
My wife has bougth a Ruby Hibiscus from Aldi. Like all their plants it
is a very good plant, but the label is brief to the point of curtness.
It has a photo of a single red, symbols for sun or half shade, and a
styllised flower with vi - viii (June to August?). But nothing about
the size or planting preferences of the plant. I am mainly concerned
to know how big it will grow so that I can decide where to put it.
Hibiscus syriacus is slow growing, but can get fairly large in the end.
If I recall correctly some specimens grown against walls in Winterbourne
Botanic Garden in Birmingham were 5 or 6 feet wide, and perhaps 8 feet
wide. I've seen others 8 feet tall. A RHS encyclopedia says height 10
feet, spread 6 ft.
It is cold tolerant, being native to Korea (where it is the national
plant) and northern China. However it doesn't flower well unless treated
to plenty of heat in summer, and in northern areas the standard advice
is to grow it against a south-facing wall.
(Warning - it is late into leaf, so don't get scared when it's still
bare-stemmed well into spring.)
A lot of mallows don't like having their roots sitting in water, but
don't have any reason to believe that this species is particularly
sensitive. I still wouldn't try it as a marginal plant for a pond.
--
Keith Collett
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley