On Gardening: Hollywood VIP a hibiscus for the ages
The Garden Guy has always been a tropical plant geek, and not a closet one either. My second book was "Paradise Found: Growing Tropicals In Your Own Backyard." The years I was the host of Mississippi State's Southern Gardening TV, I was most always decked out in a tropical floral shirt.
So, when Proven Winners announced this year that Hollywood Hibiscus was becoming part of their lineup in 2025, I found myself reaching for the Jimmy Buffett Collection. By May, I was in a state of hibiscus heaven when Hollywood Hibiscus VIP had its first bloom.
I looked at it several times that day, shooting pictures from various angles. This variety called orange on the tags is pure 24-karat gold. This is the one you would expect Hawaii to have featured in all promotional literature. While I think it is gold, that first bloom of the day had a thin margin of yellow. The center has a cranberry red burst giving way to subtle white brush strokes of white. It is the pulsating gold that grabs you as there aren't many garden flowers that color. The flowers are big, larger than my hand.
There are 12 selections in the Hollywood Hibiscus collection. I wrote about the lady of the group, America's Sweetheart, a few weeks ago. Hollywood Hibiscus VIP will become the thriller plant in your focal point container where friends and family will gather during outdoor cookouts. While I am touting mixed containers, those of you in zones 9 and warmer will certainly want to try them in the landscape.
Those of us who love the tropical hibiscus know that each year it is always the luck of the draw about what shows up at your garden center. Then if a garden writer like me features an incredible hibiscus in a column, it quickly becomes a frantic online or mail order search. Now with a company like Proven Winners with strong production and marketing, there is a good chance of you locating Hollywood Hibiscus VIP or one of the other 11 varieties. It will get better and better each year.
Hollywood Hibiscus VIP has really good vigor with a shrubby habit reaching 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide. I am in zone 8 so I have elected to grow mine in containers filled with a very high-quality potting mix. The summer has been a most memorable one with extreme heat and few rainy days. Hand watering has been the regimen with feeding every 2 to 3 weeks. I use a water-soluble mix that is higher in nitrogen and not so high in phosphorus. Gardeners are sometimes persuaded to use a super bloom type fertilizer, but this is NOT recommended for the hibiscus.
My most picturesque combination came quite by accident. Late spring and summer was filled with beautiful blue blooms of hydrangeas like Tuff Stuff AH HA mountain hydrangeas, and various Let's Dance big-leaf hydrangea varieties. The golden orange blooms of the Hollywood Hibiscus VIP were even more stunning against a backdrop of blue.
Those of you in colder zones will fall in love with the ones I am growing, Hollywood Hibiscus VIP, America's Sweetheart, Rico Suave and Disco Diva. Since this will be a budding love affair, consider choosing at least a 14-inch faux clay or ceramic container that is lightweight and easy to move on nights with freezing temperatures. These are very sporadic and temporary in zone 8. Even if you have to store for a longer period of time and leaves fall, you will be able to return to the outdoors at the appropriate time.
As the old song says "Hooray for Hollywood." Of course, I am referring to 12 hibiscus varieties that will let you create the look of the islands.
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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of "Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South" and "Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden." Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)
(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)
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