Hibiscus syriacus 'JWNWOOD4'

Hibiscus syriacus 'JWNWOOD4' Pink Chiffon® on moderate water in June 2022 at UC Davis. Photo: SK Reid.               

Summary

South Coast Research & Extension Center (South Coast REC/SCREC) is located in Irvine California, this site has a sandy loam soil and plants are irrigated with reclaimed water. UC Davis is located in Davis, California, this site has a silty clay loam soil and plants are irrigated with potable water. More information about the field sites is located in the Nuts & Bolts section.

Pink Chiffon® is an upright deciduous shrub with pink flowers. Warm peach-colored buds with pink veins open into pastel pink flowers with ruffled shorter petals at the center that obscure the characteristic monadelphous stamen. The color contrast between the buds and flowers adds interest and depth to the plant. As the flowers aged, the flower color faded to a light pink/white before the petals dropped. The calyces persisted after petal drop, changing color from green to yellow or brown. Bright green, lobed, ovate leaves emerged in late spring. Both sites observed the edges of the foliage turning grey/brown, leaves turning yellow, and some leaf-drop as the season progressed. Though we can’t confirm it, this may have been the result of boron in the Davis irrigation water and salts in the reclaimed irrigation water in Irvine. Pink Chiffon was evaluated at UC Davis and South Coast REC (SCREC) with site specific performance details and recommendations below.

UC Davis Trial – Davis, CA

Plants were still leafing out when data was collected in May resulting in lower scores. Pink Chiffon had fully leafed out when data was collected in June and plants were bursting in to bloom, resulting in high ratings from trials staff and participants at our June Open House. Overall, June and July were the peak months for Pink Chiffon in Davis; this was the period when the plants boasted the cleanest, greenest foliage, and a robust display of blooms. Beginning in August, we observed leaves yellowing at the tips and along the margins. As the season progressed more and more leaves turned yellow, and the foliage assumed a paler, chartreuse coloration. Initially we thought this could be pest damage, though we were unable to detect a potential culprit. We did observe some yellowing on older leaves of other Hibiscus syriacus in an adjoining field, though not to the same extent. Despite this, the plants continued actively growing, pushing out new leaves which did result in increased foliage and overall appearance scores in October. By the end of October, the plants had regained their deeper green coloration. Pink Chiffon is a large cultivar and was planted from #3-sized containers in Spring 2021. The plants had grown to over 4’ high and wide by October 2022. During the deficit season in 2022 we did not see any difference between the three treatments, as a result we would recommend that Pink Chiffon be irrigated on Low water in WUCOLS Region 2. 

South Coast REC Trial – Irvine, CA

Bright green, clean foliage emerged in the spring maturing to a more matte, darker emerald green as the season progressed. Flowering commenced in May and continued through August. The spent flowers had mostly fallen by September, though the calyces persisted on the plants and began to turn brown before falling off. Foliage quality declined as the season progressed. A combination of sun damage and salt accumulation are thought to be the cause of the crispy appearance, overall chlorosis, and edge necrosis present. Towards the end of the season localized defoliation was observed at the branch tips. The data supports the conclusion that the use of reclaimed water for irrigation was negatively affecting the foliage quality and Pink Chiffon would be more appealing if irrigated with potable water. We recommend that Pink Chiffon be irrigated on Low water in WUCOLS Region 3.

Basic Info

Growth and Quality Data

Click Here for Complete Data Set - UCD

Click Here for Complete Data Set - SCREC

Hibiscus syriacus 'JWNWOOD4' Pink Chiffon® flowers in June 2022 at UC Davis. Photo SK Reid.

Hibiscus syriacus Pink Chiffon® on the High treatment in October at South Coast REC in 2022.

 

Hibiscus syriacus Pink Chiffon® on the Low treatment at South Coast REC in July 2020 with scale present on the closeup photos.