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Attract Pollinators To Your Garden With This Gorgeous Blooming Flower
By KATE NICHOLSON
Getting that tropical garden feel while living in a snowy climate can seem like an impossible feat. However, U.S. gardeners in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9 are in luck.
The hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos) boasts beautiful dinner-plate-sized blooms in dramatic colors. Dormant in the winter, it pops back up when the weather warms in spring.
This easy-care plant is beloved by native pollinators like hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, and more. Some insects harvest and eat the pollen while others feast on its nectar.
This hibiscus also attracts several creatures essential for a healthy garden, like caterpillars and birds. Birds will use its foliage for nests and eat the seeds during winter.
To maximize blooms — and, therefore, cater best to pollinators — plant saplings in the ground or a large planter in full sun or part shade with a soil high in organic matter.
Water consistently (drought-like conditions reduce flowering), use potassium and calcium-rich fertilizers, pinch the growing tips, and deadhead flowers to encourage growth.