Hibiscus provides a long-lasting show in the wild and in your garden

Botanists like to bust plants up into convenient groups for classification purposes. One of those groups is the malvaceae, or mallow family. It is a group of ornamental and economic importance.

One of the plants in this group is the hibiscus, one of the showiest of tropical flowers. But we also have a native hibiscus whose flowers are equally large and striking.

Hibiscus palustris or swamp rose mallow is commonly seen around swamps and ponds. There are two versions: a white-flowered form with a red eye and a beautiful shell-pink version. Like many hibiscus, this is a tall plant, growing up to 8 feet. It makes for a spectacular, primordial-looking scene, lining pond edges that are alive with dragonflies.

If you are not inclined to pull on the hip waders and go appreciate swamp mallows, you might try to grow some of their amazing relations in your garden. Cotton is a fairly close relative. So is okra. Old fashioned hollyhocks are relations and so is the rose of Sharon, a tough old shrub that often survives around abandoned homesteads.

If you are looking for a flashy perennial to rival the spectacle that the swamp mallows put on, look for hybrids like Turn of the Century, Lord Baltimore or Blue River II to put in your garden. These hybrids are in full flower and demanding of attention this time of year. Flowers can be as much as 10 inches wide on some of these varieties. Combined with their height, they are almost gaudy.

If I had to choose one, it would be the Blue River II, a pure-white dazzler that can produce enough flowers overnight to make you think there has been a snowfall. Up close, like all of these hibiscus, the petals are pleated and chiffonlike, forming perfect, pure funnels. Lord Baltimore puts on a similar performance in scarlet red and his mate Lady Baltimore presents in delicate pink. Turn of the Century has petals of pink and red that blend into a fascinating pattern.

Disco Belle is the name of a seed-grown series of semi-dwarf, hybrid hibiscus. Fortunately, the name reveals only the introduction date and doesn't indicate flowers in mirror-ball silver or polyester.

They are dessert-plate sized, heavily pleated and textured flowers with various pink, white and rose-colored petals, with blushes and eyes and multiple variations in between.

The best quality of these plants is their size. While the aforementioned varieties tend to top 6 feet, the Disco series is only 3 or 4 feet.

What's good about this is that the taller hibiscus have a tendency to lean. If you neglect to stake them they can then form some awkward angles that spoil the show. They are also often brittle at the base and can break off. Of course, another advantage of seed-grown varieties is that they are much cheaper.

Two other natives are valuable assets. Texas Star hibiscus is a tall, perennial native to the wetlands of the South and perfectly hardy.

Maybe it's popular here because it's mentioned in historic-garden circles, but it remains a plant that should be better known.

It is tall, up to 8 feet or so, and the leaves are palmate – shaped like a hand with fingers. These two qualities are shared with marijuana. I have heard first-hand stories of the police mistaking the two.

The blood-red flowers of Texas Star hibiscus could never be mistaken for marijuana, though. Unlike typical hibiscus flowers, the petals of this one are spoon shaped, giving the flower the form of a star rather than the typical funnel. Texas Star hibiscus is easy to grow from seed if you have room for it. Given a few years, it will grow to form a woody clump the size of most shrubs.

More delicate by far is the seashore mallow. It hasn't started blooming this year. These fuzzy-leafed plants are lined with quarter-size, miniature hibiscus flowers with golden-yellow centers. They make a nice bridge between the late summer flowers and the beginning of autumn.

Don't be intimidated by names like "seashore" and "swamp" from giving these worthy flowers a try. They adjust nicely to flower borders.

They appreciate water, but once established they do well through periods of drought. But they must be in full sun for good flowering performance. You can cut the big, woody stems right down to the ground once they have lost their leaves in autumn. They are slow to come back. They don't usually make an appearance until other perennials are well on their way. Their location should be marked to avoid damaging them.

The wild species will come true from seed. Sow it indoors in early spring and give the plants a chance to establish themselves before moving them outdoors. It will take a year before the perennial hibiscus will flower from seed. Once they put down their massive roots, you will have a guaranteed, mid-summer show for years to come.

If you don't have the patience for that, try abelmoschus. This pale-yellow beauty will start unfurling flowers in just a few months from seed, but it must be planted again next year.