Late '60s - the hibiscus hedge

I wonder how big they were really? My brother and I spent hours and hours clambering around in the huge, leggy hibiscus hedge along the side of the house. That can't have been good for the poor plants, but I'm thinking they were extremely tough botanical beings. Dad showed us how to pluck the nearly ripe blossoms and suck the sweetness out of the end. We probably defoliated the entire bunch that season. (Why didn't anyone notice and yell at us?! Did they bloom all the time?) Bright red. Singles. Stunning flowers. We didn't care! We were busy cracking out old dead limbs, slain by cold spells the previous winter, to use as swords. I was a pirate. And deadly with my sidearm.