Floriferous Hardy Hibiscus ‘Kopper King’ Has Copper or Purple Leaves

Summary: Floriferous hardy hibiscus ‘Kopper King’ is a copper- or purple-leafed cultivar of New World native perennial crimsoneyed rosemallow (Hibiscus moscheutos).

Hibiscus moscheutos ‘Kopper King;’ pink and red streaks extending from red eye to petal edges impart pinkish cast to pure white petals: K M (cultivar413), CC BY 2.0, via Flickr

Floriferous hardy hibiscus ‘Kopper King’ is a copper- or purple-leaved cultivar of crimsoneyed rosemallow (Hibiscus moscheutos), a New World perennial that is native to Canada and the United States.

‘Kopper King’ presents compact, vigorous growth with uniform branching. The hybrid hibiscus is cold hardy to U.S.D.A. (U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zone 4). ‘Kopper King’ maintains hardiness to at least minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 34 degrees Celsius).

‘Kopper King’ thrives in full to partial sunniness. The hardy hybrid displays the characteristic moisture preferences of hibiscus plants but also easily accepts ordinary garden soils.

‘Kopper King’ rises from perennial roots to heights of 31 to 42 inches (78.74 to 106.68 centimeters). The hardy hibiscus spreads to widths of 24 to 30 inches (60.96 to 76.2 centimeters).

Palmate (Latin: palmatus, “hand-shaped”) leaves appear in alternate arrangements. Ovate (Latin: ovatus, “egg-shaped”) leaves have three lobes as juveniles and mature with three to five lobes. Relatively smooth margins have occasional serrations.

The leafstalks that join the leaf blade to the stem are known as petioles (Latin: petiolus, “little foot”). Petioles measure lengths of about 2.5 inches (6.35 centimeters). Mature leaves have lengths of about 6.5 inches (16.5 centimeters), from petiole base to apex, or leaf tip. Mature width is about 5 inches (12.7 centimeters).

The leaves’ maple-style cut shows off the foliage’s even distribution of color. The coppery-colored upper surfaces of young leaves turns to burgundy with maturity.

Despite lateness in breaking dormancy in the spring, ‘Kopper King’ offers a floriferous, lengthy period of successive blooms. Flowers open in late spring or by midsummer. Blooming continues into the autumn and ends with the first frost.

Flower buds last for about one to two weeks. White-colored buds measure about 1.5 inches (3.81 centimeters) just before opening day.

Flowers are borne singly in leaf axils, the junctions between leafstalks and stems. The floral zone is upward from the midpoint of stems.

Dinner-plate-sized flowers each open for one full day. Floral diameter ranges from 8 to 12 inches (20.32 to 30.48 centimeters). Each of the five overlapping petals equally measure about 4 inches (10.16 centimeters) in length as well as in width.

A red center, or eye, at the throat, or opening at the base of the petals, has a diameter of about 2.5 inches (6.35 centimeters). Pink or red streaks extend across lightly ruffled white petals from the eye and sometimes reach petal edges.

A 40-year breeding program involving three generations of backcrossing produced ‘Kopper King.’ Backcrossing aims for a hybrid’s close genetic identity with a parent by crossing a hybrid with a parent or a genetically similar organism. An inbred seedling of ‘Dahliatown Orchid,’ a cultivar of crimsoneyed rosemallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) selected as the pollen parent, was backcrossed with ‘Jazzmen,’ a hybrid of crimsoneyed rosemallow, scarlet rosemallow (Hibiscus coccineus) and halberdleaf rosemallow (Hibiscus militaris).

‘Kopper King’ first bloomed as a successfully backcrossed cultivar during summer 1987. Ten subsequent years of propagation via cuttings and root division confirmed the new cultivar’s faithful transmission of its distinctive features.

On Nov. 3, 1997, David W. Fleming and James R. Fleming of Fleming’s Flower Fields Inc. in Lincoln, Nebraska, filed patent application number 963,542 for a floriferous, winter-hardy hibiscus plant. The brothers gave their new cultivar the name of ‘Kopper King’ (Hibiscus x moscheutos ‘Kopper King’) in recognition of the foliage’s coppery red vibrancy. On Feb. 16, 1999, the U.S. Patent Office, via patent examiner Howard J. Locker, granted patent number Plant 10,793 for hybrid hibiscus ‘Kopper King.’

The vibrant flowers and foliage of floriferous hardy hibiscus ‘Kopper King’ prettify private and public landscapes from late spring through autumn’s first frost.

Burgundy foliage and pink flower of Hibiscus moscheutos ‘Kopper King’ (foreground) show well with late summer’s brown flowers of oak leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia), Central Park’s Conservatory Garden, Fifth Avenue and 105th Street: K M, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Hibiscus moscheutos ‘Kopper King’: K M (cultivar413), CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/131880272@N06/22105530525/

Burgundy foliage and pink flower of Hibiscus moscheutos ‘Kopper King’ (foreground) show well with late summer’s brown flowers of oak leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia), Central Park’s Conservatory Garden, Fifth Avenue and 105th Street: K M, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/131880272@N06/29066449662/

For further information:

Baenzier, P. Stephen, and Patricia Hain. “Advanced Backcross Breeding.” Plant & Soil Sciences eLibrary > Plant Breeding.
Available @ http://passel.unl.edu/pages/informationmodule.php?idinformationmodule=959723462&topicorder=2&maxto=7

Daulton, Kelsea. “Kopper King Hardy Hibiscus Dazzles With Dark Foliage and Gigantic Flowers.” Horticulture magazine > Plants > Plants We Love. July 29, 2014.
Available @ http://www.hortmag.com/plants/plants-we-love/kopper-king-hardy-hibiscus-dazzles-with-dark-foliage-and-gigantic-flowers

Fleming, David W., and James R. Fleming. “Hibiscus Plant Named ‘Kopper King.’” United States Patent and Trademark Office > Patent Images on the Web. Feb. 16, 1999.
Available @ http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?Docid=PP010793

Gill, Dan. “A hardy hibiscus with dinner-plate-sized flowers is a star of the summer garden.” The Times-Picayune > Louisiana Home and Garden. May 8, 2014.
Available @ http://www.nola.com/homegarden/index.ssf/2014/05/a_hardy_hibiscus_that_can_weat.html

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Available @ http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/40919/#b

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Available @ http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=z150

“Hibiscus plant named ‘Kopper King.’ Justia Patents. Nov. 3, 1997.
Available @ http://patents.justia.com/patent/PP10793

“Hibiscus x moscheutos Fleming’s Kopper King™.” Fleming’s Flower Fields.
Available @ https://www.flemingsflowers.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantDetail&plant_id=6

Marriner, Derdriu. "Crimsoneyed (Hibiscus moscheutos) Rose Mallow Has White to Red Flowers." Earth and Space News. Saturday, July 23, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/07/crimsoneyed-rosemallow-hibiscus.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Edible Scarlet Rose Mallow (Hibiscus coccineus) Attracts Pollinators." Earth and Space News. Sunday, July 3, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/07/edible-scarlet-rose-mallow-hibiscus.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Scarlet Rose Mallow (Hibiscus coccineus) Has Showy Scarlet Flowers." Earth and Space News. Saturday, July 2, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/07/scarlet-rose-mallow-hibiscus-coccineus.html

McGroarty, Mike. “The One Plant That Could Change Your Life Forever.” Mike’s Backyard Nursery > Gardening. May 20, 2015.
Available @ http://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2013/08/the-one-plant-that-could-change-your-life-forever/

Russ, Karen. “Hibiscus.” Clemson University > Cooperative Extension > Home & Garden Information Center (HGIC) > Landscape, Garden & Indoor Plants > Landscape Plants & Lawns > Flowers. December 2004. Last updated September 2007.
Available @ http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/landscape/flowers/hgic1179.html

“Swamp Rose Mallow Hibiscus moscheutos.” Illinois Wildflowers > Wetland Wildflowers.
Available @ http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/sw_rsmallow.htm