I've grown both, and I prefer Disco Belle -- the clumps expand in size faster, and they seem to bloom more heavily.

Jap beetles will skeletonize the leaves of hibiscus, but interestingly I haven't had any issues with Jap beetles on the Luna or Disco Belle while they make a meal of out of Brandy Punch and Anne Arundel - makes me it is due to the differing foliage. That is, if they even find them -- I have one rugosa rose that is a beetle magnet while the beasts leave other rugosas alone for the most part, so I consider that my "trap" plant.

Anyway, if you can find Disco Belle, choose those over Luna, but Luna seems to be the most readily available the last few years.

Also remember that hibiscus (hibisci?) are VERY late to make their annual appearance; some years I don't see any evidence of growth whatsoever until late May, then have to pinch, pinch, pinch to get nice bushy plants (= more blooms) by mid-August. So, plan accordingly -- you will have gaps in your beds until the hibiscus are up and filled out. Still, I can't imagine a summer garden without them! :0)

The only Lunas I have are Luna Reds. They are definitely not as robust as my Disco Belles. The foliage on my Lunas is smooth-textured while the Disco Belle's is coarser. The seedling Disco Belle that turned out to have the large deep pink flowers has smooth foliage but is vigorous. The other hibiscuses I have are a couple of 'Lord Baltimore' and a couple of 'Fireball'. The Fireballs have foliage like a cutleaf Japanese maple! The foliage is, I gather, supposed to be dark but it doesn't get very dark for me. I now also have the 'Midnight Marvel' waiting to be planted. We'll see how that one does... I've tried 'Pinot Noir' twice but they never made it through their first winter after planting. The pale pink Disco Belles are my best performers - long, profuse flower season, never need pinching. I've not noticed JB problems, although the resident snail population chew some holes - never enough to be really unsightly... The hibiscuses are late to appear - end of May at the earliest here - but my garden is so densely planted that their late arrival doesn't leave too obvious holes :-)

Re positioning... Mine are mostly in the big front bed and the driveway border. The plantings tend to be on the tallish side so the hibiscuses fit in at or near the front so they can be easily seen.

This post was edited by woodyoak on Sun, Sep 8, 13 at 23:06

I don't have any Disco Belles, so I can't really give you a comparison, but I can attest to the Lunas being Japanese beetles' absolute favorite thing to eat in my whole garden, turning many leaves into lace before I finally got them under control. I have all three colors - red, pink swirl, and white, but they didn't bother the white one as much as the other two. Could just be where it was planted, though. But I absolutely LOVE them. They're a favorite for sure.

I can find only disco belle pink on Amazon as a starter plant. I don't start small plants in the fall any more.
How easy are they from seed? I prefer immediate gratification, but I may be forced to try seed.
If you have other ideas, sources I'd welcome them.
Thanks,
Marie

They are dead easy from seed! They bloom the first year from seed so you could grow them in a pot the first year to check out the color to make sure it's what you want, and then plant it/them in late summer. My pale pink Disco Belles come true from seed more often than not but they have produced that one with the large, deep pink flowers and some pale pink ones that don't have the darker pink eye. It takes the usual three years (sleep, creep, leap) for them to bulk up to large clumps but that is to be expected from any perennial.... If you are interested in seeds from mine, e-mail me through the 'My page' e-mail - soon - so I can let a few seed capsules ripen for you.