A new and distinct cultivar of winter hardy hibiscus plant named ‘Cherub’ is the result of a unique hybridization. This new and distinct cultivar is characterized primarily as to novelty by its tropical aspects, its extreme cold hardiness to Zone 4, its medium-sized, thick-textured, tubular pink flowers with recurved petal edges and its shiny Maple-like green leaves and unusual pyramidal compactness of about 3 feet, its vigorous and uniform growth habit, and its floriferous nature from midsummer until frost, and its genetic achievement as a cross between a tropical and hardy Hibiscus.
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1. A new and distinct cultivar of TROPICAL-HARDY™ Hibiscus plant, as herein shown and described, characterized by its tropical aspect, extremely compact, pyramidal nature, its shiny and very refined green, Maple-like foliage, its pale pink tubular flowers with recurved petal edges, its vigor, and its hardiness.
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Botanical designation: Hibiscus moscheutos×H. rosa-sinensis.
Variety denomination: ‘Cherub’.
The new plant of this invention is the result of a unique hybridization, with the breeding achievement being evidenced in the outstanding combination of characteristics exhibited by this new and distinct Hibiscus plant, which include:
‘Cherub’ was the result of a 40-year breeding program. Its ancestry includes Hibiscus moscheutos and Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. More specifically, the plant resulted from multiple crossings with an unnamed proprietary Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (unpatented) and an unnamed proprietary Hibiscus moscheutos (unpatented). The single seedling which most nearly met all of the above named standards was selected.
This new plant first bloomed in the summer if 1990 and was selected by David Fleming and Gretchen Zwetzig on David Fleming's property in Lincoln, Nebr. Asexual propagation of the plant by cuttings and root division has shown that the unique and distinguishing features of the plant are faithfully transmitted from generation to generation and appear to be fixed.
Since its origin, the plant has bloomed from midsummer until frost, while exhibiting the aforementioned distinctive characteristics. This TROPICAL-HARDY™ Hibiscus plant greatly contributes to the market with its tropical aspect, shear beauty and utter refinement, its compact growth habit, its enhanced resistance to disease and insects, its stability through extremes in rain and drought, and its extreme hardiness.
The flower and foliage of the cultivar are shown in the attached photographs. More specifically, the drawing a close-up of the flower and foliage. The plant in the photograph was apx. 5 years of age shown in Lincoln, Nebr.
The colors are as true as is reasonably possible to attain in photographic illustrations of this type. The colors illustrated may be slightly off due to light reflectance.
What follows is a detailed description of the new cultivar. The specific color descriptions are in accordance with the Dictionary of Color (Maerz and Paul), while general color recitations are consistent with ordinary American color terminology.
‘Cherub’ has not been observed under all possible environment conditions. It is to be understood that the phenotype may vary significantly with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity, and day length, without, however any difference in genotype of the plant. The following botanical characteristics and observations are gathered from a 5 year old plant when grown under normal outdoor conditions in Lincoln, Nebr. (USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 4).
This plant, as hybridized TROPICAL-HARDY™ Hibiscus, is valuable to the landscape market for its improvements in tropical aspect, pink tubular flowers with recurved edges, shiny and very refined, Maple-like green foliage on a much more compact, pyramidal plant that will grow nicely in patio pots, its all-around vigor, good breaking action, and adaptation to extreme environments, including the ability to consistently survive winter temperatures of at least −30 degrees Fahrenheit.
| Patent | Priority | Assignee | Title |
| PP20121, | Jul 30 2007 | University of Georgia Research Foundation | Hibiscus plant named ‘Panama Red’ |
| PP20811, | Jul 30 2007 | University of Georgia Research Foundation | Hibiscus plant named ‘Panama Bronze’ |
| Patent | Priority | Assignee | Title |
| PP13751, | Jul 30 2002 | Hibiscus plant named: `Pink Comet` |
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