Three years ago I purchased 4 shrubs labelled Hibiscus rosa-sinesis. They were blooming with bright pinkish red HIBISCUS SHAPED flowers. They were only tolerant to 20 degrees F, and as I live in zone 5 I didn't ever expect them to winter over successfully. The following spring they surprised me when the shrubs showed signs of life. They had prolific leaf growth that year but never blossomed. May I point out that the leaves produced on the same branches as the previous year, and did not produce new growth from the ground up.

They also lived through the winter year 2 and 3, but still never bloomed in the summer. Now on their fourth year of growth I was excited to see them with flower buds, although I felt it was late in the season for hibiscus. I have to admit during all this time I really never paid attention to leaf shape, (which I suppose I should have).

The buds finally opened, and they're not red. They're not even hibiscus. They're a lovely lavender-pink althea (rose of sharon). I have to admit I'm totally perplexed on this.

The shrubs, though about 3 feet taller than at purchase time, still have the original ID tags on them, they are definitely the SAME plants I planted there. I realize that althea are in the same family as hibiscus, but they were definitely HIBISCUS when I planted them, with shiny glossy leaves and red orchid like blooms, not at all what there is there now.

There is no way anyone could have substituted the shrubs for something else without my knowledge.

Can anyone explain how this is possible?