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cajungardener

How to tell the difference

cajungardener
18 years ago

Okay, I'm just beginning to read your posts here and have a question. What is the difference between a hardy hibiscus and a tropical one. I have several doubles and just recently bought some of the singles. These are all in pots, but then I also have several Altheas and one Texas Star that I'm waiting for the police to come and arrest me for........

Anyway, just wondering how do tell the difference.

Cajun

Comment (1)

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    18 years ago

    A quick way to ID is that the tropicals tend to have shiny leaves and woody brown stems. The hardies are more herbaceous and have softer, greenish stems with duller matte-finish leaves. Also there are certain flower colors that are pretty much restricted to tropicals, although nowadays I've noticed alot of breeding taking place to try to capture some of the tropical colors in the hardies.