The Grill-Meister and I named our home Glover Gardens for many reasons. One is that we really enjoy a visit to the nursery to enhance our landscape, and sometimes, we choose plants we’ve never seen before. That’s how we found Mahogany Splendor, which is a variety of hibiscus. The leaves look like pot leaves, and the flowers are bright red. The leaves and flowers together make a really nice red accent in the landscape, and we adored this plant, which grew much larger than its public relations office says it will. It had a place of honor behind the pool, elbowing the Golden Dewdrop aside for its place in the sun. (Pictures from multiple blooming years.)
The blooms grow right on the stalk and are large, velvety and bright red.
While Mahogany Splendor can be a perennial plant in our growing zone just northwest of Houston, we lost ours after more than 5 years of beauty in the big freeze of 2021. It is frozen behind the pool in the picture below.
I’m an eternal optimist and would have planted a Mahogany Splendor again in a heartbeat, but I haven’t been able to find it at local nurseries.
It just occurred to me last week to try seeds.
Duh…🙄
So I ordered them online.
And planted them yesterday.
I’m so excited! They should sprout in 3-5 days.
The back of the pool really misses that red accent.
I hope the Mahogany Splendor will be arm-wrestling with the Golden Dewdrop behind the pool for its rightful place by the fall. Interestingly, the bloom pictures I have in my collection are all from the month of November, in several different years, so I don’t think I’m too late in my planting for us to see some splendor this year.
We’ll keep you posted!
How is your garden growing?
© 2022, Glover Gardens
hiya, lovely pictures! i just acquired my first ever hibiscus -not sure which one it just said hibiscus on the pot i am rather excited to see how it flowers, though here in the uk i will have to protect it for winter, they are one of my fave flowers! hope you have much success with your seeds!
Thank you, and good luck with yours, too! I didn’t realize until a few years ago that there are so many varieties in the hibiscus family. I love them! Have you ever seen a Lord Baltimore? Giant red blooms the size of a dinner plate. Happy Hibiscus!
hiya and no i never heard of it, i am new to hibiscus, but i did google it and i totally agree a fabulous flower! until now i was always about roses, roses were my fave however i must confess hibiscus are vying for top spot the flowers are just so amazing, have an excellent day!
You might consider taking a cutting each year to root then pot it indoors to put out each spring. I just bought one and I live in zone 9 so I hope mine will be fine, but plan to root a cutting just in case. They definitely stand out!
Hi Wendy, you’re so right, they are beautiful stand-out plants because of their color and distinctive leaves. I tried something with cuttings this year that has amazed me… I read, perhaps belatedly, that the plant should be pinched when young so that it won’t get leggy. I had grown several from seed and thus had several cuttings that were anywhere from 10 inches to 2 feet. I stuck them directly into other flower pots, and ALL of them rooted! Now I have about 8 Mahogany Splendor plants. 😊