A LITTLE MORE LIFE
Maʻo
Gossypium tomentosum
Silver foliage and yellow flowers thrive with little water once this Hawaiian cotton is established.
MAKE IT FEEL AT HOME
A spot to thrive.
Choose nursery-propagated plants; allow soil to dry and keep away from frequent lawn sprinklers.
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry soil
- Mature size
- Under 2–6 ft tall · 5–7 ft wide
- Season of interest
- Late summer–winter
- Local climate
- Choose by island, elevation, and rainfall.
- Garden role
- A silver-leaved flowering shrub
ONE GOOD SWAP
Instead of tropical hibiscus.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
Try maʻo for a silver-leaved flowering shrub.
Compare plantsNATIVE TO YOUR PLACE
Find it in your state guide.
Reviewed native coverage. Choose your state to see more alternatives.
Dig a little deeper.
Photo credits & licenses
Maʻo: Forest & Kim Starr · CC BY 3.0
Tropical hibiscus: Jack Wolf · CC-BY-SA 2.0
Resized, converted to WebP, and cropped in the layout. Each photo retains its listed license. All photo credits