I've had one of these I planted in 2007. It is always the first of my Hardy Hibiscus to bloom and the most severely damaged by Sawfly Larvae. They must prefer it's foliage over the others I have planted nearby. The leaves are much more dissected than the others and remind me of the less hardy Texas Red Star Hibiscus. I think I have an issue with rodents damaging roots in the area it is planted proabably due to them liking all the rocks. At one point a couple years ago I thought it was a goner because after one winter it took longer than usual and longer than the others I have, to begin growth in late spring and it only managed a single stem with a couple flowers that year. Last year it was slightly better and this year it seemed to have recovered quite a bit and was the biggest I can remember it ever being. However I have a Hibiscus 'Moy Grande' a few feet away and some others not too far and they all grow into the size of a large shrubs taller than me (I'm 5 feet) while Lord Baltimore is only a few stems, reaching about 4 feet high. So all in all I think it is a picky grower for me and not as hardy or vigorous as many other Hardy Hibiscus are here. The large red flowers are beautiful though and it would be nice if I could find a cultivar with the same flowers but a better plant. Here it is on July 27, 2015 just starting to bloom, you can see off to the right, the side of the 'Moy Grande' and get an idea of the different shaped leaves and how much larger it gets.
Here it is a few days later. Again you can see the size difference of the nearby Moy Grande.
