Today I got the very first flower from my Red Heart Rose of Sharon that I started from seed in February of this year. I put it in the ground on 4/3/2023 where it gets full all day long brutal Houston sun and it grows like a weed. Many buds will be opening soon. I'm thrilled!

Terrific!

Strong work! Congrats - looks perfect.

Al

Beautiful bloom, Interesting that it blooms in the first year, very lucky
Is it a Hybrid?, since the leaves, stem and flowers somewhat differ from Hibiscus syriacus and little similar to other hibiscus like H. moscheutos.

Thank you for your comment, the seed package just says Red Heart, syriacus with no mention of hybrid. I also have a Luna White planted from seed this year that has at least one large bud starting to open….. I am a lucky beginner.

The flower looks quite identical to the Luna White Hibiscus.
Here is a pic with the leaves as well to compare and contrast.
https://oceansidegarden.com/pl...


Here is an online pic of the flower and leaves of the Red Heart rose of sharon to compare with:

See the darker green waxy "trident" leaves in the latter, and the red lines in the flower coming from the center of the non-circular flower?

How do the leaves compare between your known lunar white, and the one with the flower you got? It is hard to tell from the angles of your images.

Upon further review….you folks are right, both plants leaves are the same and the flower red center doesn't match what a Red Heart would look like. So, the very first ever flower on my Luna White hibiscus started from a seed this past February.😁 Thanks for putting me straight, I'm still very pleased.

You should be.
It is gorgeous.

One more question please….😁
The flowers on my Luna White that's in the ground seem to only open about 3/4 open whereas my 2 Luna Whites in pots open fully. Any ideas about why this happens? There are lots of flowers and many happy bees too. If I help them open, they remain that way.
Thanks!

Are the moisture levels the same? Things in pots tend to get watered more as they are in pots so people fear them drying out so they get a lot more attention than in-ground plants.