Confederate Rose
The Confederate Rose was born in China. It resembles the family of hibiscus. Among all the perennial plants, the confederate rose has flowers that are of maximum size. This rose plant matures in broad sunlight or even dim shade. The soil can either be a well nourished wet soil or one of the not so healthy kinds of soil. In case the rose plant is planted in the early spring season, large flowers flourish from the seeds in the very first year.
The confederate rose blooms in Louisiana as well as the other gulf states. However it thrives in certain regions of Texas too. Maybe it is because this rose variety is generally available in the southern states that it so called.
Even though single flowers might survive for just a couple of days, do not be disheartened. Every rose plant has many flowers and you can spend all your summer admiring them.
Confederate rose plants can be 6 to 8 feet tall. Hence it would be a good idea to plant them in the last row of the patio garden such that they can look over the shorter plants.
In case the rose plants are frost bitten then you will need to prune them to the ground in the spring season. Thus you can actually trim your plants before they start growing.
"Moy Grande" is the fresh type of Confederate Rose that was introduced by Dr. Jerry Parsons in San Antonio a number of years back.
The outstanding aspect of the Confederate rose or the cotton rosemallow is its flowers. In the ninth and the tenth zones the plant is more like a shrub. However higher north the plant resembles the perennials. The flowers are 4 to 6 inches in width and can either bloom singly or in sets of two. When they bloom they are either white or pink in colour; by dusk they turn into a dark shade of red. Red flowers are found in the “Rubra” type. The flowers which flourish individually take the shape of cups. The blooming season runs throughout summer and ends after the fall season. One can take cuttings from the root at any period of the year; however the cultivation of the rose plant by cutting roots is best done in the early spring season.
The Confederate rose can grow up to a height of 15 to 18 feet and also have a woody bark- provided it is not struck by cold and chill. It is the more bushy plant of 5 to 6 feet height which is more common and it also yields more flowers. These rose plants mature very quickly. The name of the plant was taken from the Confederate States of America as it abounded in the region. The plant likes healthy soil that is also properly watered and drained. It can develop in bright sunlight and also areas that are little shaded.
The hibiscus mutabilis or the Confederate rose looks quite unlike the other standard rose plants that we see around us. The Confederate rose can reach a height of twelve to fifteen feet; it is developed on shrubs and it has the distinct feature of being able to alter the colour of its flowers from dawn to dusk. The rose flourishes in the morning as a gorgeous white or a soft pink and by the end of the day it transforms into a flower with a deeper hue. The dusk witnesses the colour of the flowers as a dark red shade.