Turks Cap or Sleeping Heirloom Hibiscus Live Plant Unusual Peach Pink Flower Starter Size 4

Turks Cap, Turks Cap Mallow, Sleeping Hibiscus, Sleepy Mallow, Wax Mallow, Hummingbird Mallow, and Cardinals Hat are all common names for an old heirloom type of Perennial Hibiscus. ( Malvaviscus arboreus ).

In the '60s and '70s, it was rare to find a Florida yard without a Sleeping Hibiscus planted somewhere, usually in a shady nook or corner. However, times and tastes changed, and by the mid-80s, they fell out of fashion as the corporate chain stores began to dominate the ornamental plant industry, and paved lots, condos, and high rises replaced old tree-lined streets and small single-building lots. By the mid-1990s, it was largely forgotten and just an oddity seen in Botanical Gardens and the grounds of Historic Homes.

It's a species well worth re-discovery. It is a fast-growing, moderately cold, hardy perennial that quickly matures into a large, rounded shrub at about 8 to 10 feet if left unpruned. Throughout the warm season, it is filled with red, pink, or white 'sleepy' nectar-filled flowers with crinkly-textured petals that fall in a swirl from the light green sepals and never fully open. Despite the sleepy, drooping habit of the flowers, hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators love them.

The most common variety is red, but this one is pink to peach, which is somewhat rarer. Depending on light, weather, and nutrition, the color can go either way.