The leaves are coppery red to dark purple, with a lobed and toothed leaf shape that appears to be similar to some maples.

Each flower, with its cream to light-pink petals and deep red eye in the center streaking outward toward the margin, is borne singly from the leaf axils and can be 8–12 in (20.3–30.5 cm) in diameter.

[1][2] 'Kopper King' is a complex hybrid involving three species of Hibiscus and is the culmination of a forty-year breeding program established by the Fleming brothers at their nursery in Nebraska.

After testing to verify the characteristics of the plant were stable, they applied for a patent on this cultivar on November 3, 1997.

The patent in part claims that, "[t]his hardy hibiscus plant contributes to the market with its sheer beauty, its compact growth habit, it[s] great resistance to disease and insects, its stability through extremes in rain and drought, and its extreme hardiness.