My apologies, I had originally posted this in "Outdoor Tropicals," before I realized there was a "Hibiscus" section. My hibiscus usually produces peach-colored flowers, but today I noticed a lovely pink flower on the same tree; this one looks very different from the usual peach flowers. (See pictures). Can anyone tell me why this is happening?
Peach must be grafted onto the pink, or there is some other reason for two different ones to be present in the same clump. It is hard to believe the pink would be a branch sport of the peach, it is so different. Study the structure of the shrub to see if the pink is coming from underneath the peach. If so, cut the branches producing pink flowers off, and keep them cut off - rootstocks used are often more vigorous than the cultivars grafted onto them and liable to overwhelm the cultivar in time with their own top growth if this is not kept cut off.
Thank you both for your comments! Ron B, if you look at the attached photo, the center stem produces the peach (the "original" flowers), and the smaller offshoot to the left has the "new" pink flower. The offshoot to the right has not produced a flower yet. I can't wait to see what it'll be! Do you think it could be a graft?
It couldn't be anything but a graft that's producing the newest pink blooms. To maintain the peach blooms you must remove any growth below the union. Cheers, LPN.
i agree with lpn take the root suckers off if you like the pink they can be grown from the cuttings after you cut them off the main plant
Thanks LPN and mikeyinfla. I will follow your advice and remove the pink suckers. How exactly would I go about growing the cut-offs? Stick them into water until root growth starts or plant them in a pot...? Sorry to be so full of (probably basic) questions.
Here's a link to previous discussion ... http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=12295 Cheers, LPN.