AS an avid gardiner, I am puzzled. I grow quite a number of tropical plants, most of which die as soon as the weather turns cold, in the fall. One notable exception is the Rose of Sharon (hibiscus)-you can’t kill it! It thrives and spreads like crazy.
Yet, this is a plant originally from the South Pacific-where there is no frost. My fuscias and impatiens never have adapted-they are dea by late October.
So how does the hibiscus do so well?
Hibiscus syriacus doesn’t come form the South Pacific, it comes form the region from Korea through to Nepal. Those areas often, though not always, receive mild to moderate winter frosts. IOW you are growing a plant that has evolved in regions with moderate frosts in an area with moderate frosts. No adaptation necessary.
As **Blake **said, hibiscus syriacus does not come from the South Pacific but from eastern and central Asia. It’s the national flower of South Korea, which is at the same latitude as Virginia.
Adaptation of plants is simple. The plants that reproduce are the ones that survive if the conditions are marginal for survival. Go too extreme at once and they all die.