Question
Hello,

We live in coastal Georgia and would like to have a large Hibiscus as the "focal point" in one of the beds in our front yard. Do you have any suggestions for what we could plant around it? We'd like the Hibiscus to be the main thing, but want to put some attractive, yet hardy plants around it, to dress the area up a bit.

This will be at the start of a wide border that follows our sidewalk from the driveway to the front porch. This part will be larger, swinging out into a circle almost, then it tapers down to follow the rest of the sidewalk. We have blue agapanthus to line the sidewalk the rest of the way, and reddish mulch. The area gets a lot of sun, and it gets HOT here in the summer!

If you don't think the Hibiscus is a good idea, do you have any suggestions for what might be better there? I have been racking my brain trying to think of something nice for this area, that will look good and not die in the heat.

I would really appreciate your help!! Thank you so much.

Warmly,
Heather Allem

Answer
Heather - Hibiscus is a fine idea.  There are a lot of different species that could be used (there are some 38 species world-wide, but only ablout three commerically grown).  I would stick to the evergreens - H. rosa-sinensis.  Even then, it comes in a wide range of colors and sizes, and a dense or loose form.  It gets about 15 feet in the US, but in the tropics, upwards of 30 feet!

Depending on the flower color, you can use different base plants to compliment or match the flower color.

RED
Barberry (Berberis thumbergii)
Dwarf holly (Iles vomitoria)
Compact Viburnum (V. opulous 'compacta')

YELLOW
Kerria (K. japonica)
Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquafolium)

BLUE
Dwarf flowering almond (Prunus glandulosa)
Indian hawthorn (Raphiolepis indica)
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Wild ginger/Pinecone lily (Zingiber zerumbet)

Hibiscus flower colors come is white, pink, red, yellow, orange, and probably lots of others I can't think of!!

If you want other flowering focal tree/large shrub ideas instead of Hibiscus, here are a few:
Camelia (C. sasanqua) - evergreen, yellow/lav./orange/pink/red
Korean Lilac (Syringa patula) - deciduous, blue/pink
Snowball (Viburnum opulous) - white

Lots of plants to chose from - all grow in your zone (8a), and some do better in "heat" than others.  Our heat is a dry desert-type, yours is probably more on the "muggy" side, which is a HUGE difference to these plants.

Hope it helps.  -Marc