Rose of Sharon
This is a picture of our 4 year old Rose of Sharon tree. It’s absolutely packed with flower buds this year. It has more flowers this year than it ever has. It started blooming on Wednesday or Thursday of last week, and I expect that it will continue blooming for another three or four weeks.
The Rose of Sharon shrub is a member of the Hibiscus family. You might find it listed as Shrub althaea or Hibiscus syriacus.
The shrub can be trained into tree form by careful pruning. I prune mine in early spring. Rose of sharon can reach heights of between 6 - 10 feet or more. Mine is approximately 6 feet tall right now. It’s mother tree is in my neighbors yard and that tree is at least 10 feet tall.
The flowers are two to four inches in diameter, and they can be single, double, or semi-double. Rose of Sharon tend to bloom in late summer. Mine and my neighbors have bloomed as late as the beginning of August and as early as the second week of July. I assume that the gardening zone, harshness of the past winter, seasonal care, and the summer temperatures are all factors in when exactly this lovely tree blooms. Flower colors include white, pink, red, blue and violet bicolors.
The foliage can range from light to medium green in color. Some varieties have variegated leaves.
This shrub does well in Zone 6 and higher, but gardeners in Zone 5 areas might have success if they are willing to give the tree good winter protection. This tree seems to prefer full sun, but listings state that it will also tolerate partial shade. Mine is in full sun and you can see the beautiful results in the photo above. Well draining soil is a must.
As stated above this shrub can be trained to tree form with careful pruning. It can be used in hard to plant, narrow areas, plant in hedges, as screens, or as specimen plants. Young plants will need winter protection in cool areas.
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July 26th, 2006 at 5:22 am
What a great site, best wishes, The Artist
July 26th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
Thanks! I’ve been enjoying your site for quite a while now too.
July 6th, 2007 at 3:03 am
Great site! I was looking for information about Rose of Sharon, and your 7-23-06 post told me everything I needed. Although I just turned 60, I am new to gardening. Just never had the time before, and now that I am retired I am truly enjoying planting in my once bare backyard. One question: you said the Rose of Sharon will need winter protection in Zone 5 (my zone). How do I provide that protection?
Thank you again for a wonderful site. I will visit often as I strive to learn more about gardening.
Alice
July 27th, 2008 at 12:01 am
[…] tall tree on the left - well the tallest in our garden - is the Rose of Sharon tree. It’s in full bloom at this very moment, but two weeks ago when I took the picture it […]
August 10th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
First I’d like to say your tree is beautiful. Is a Rose of Sharon an acid loving plant? I want to feed my trees with Miracle Grow fertilizer. I don’t know which one I should use. Should I use the regular fertilizer or the one that is for acid loving plants?
Thanks… : )
August 10th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Moonlight
I really don’t use fertilizers on my garden. I make up a batch of alfalfa tea (alfalfa pellets soaked in a large trash can of water for about two weeks) once or twice a year and that’s all that my plants get. Oh, I do amend the soil each spring with compost too.
I don’t believe that they are acid soil loving plants as it’s said they can grow just about anywhere in any soil. The Rose of Sharon needs a bright location and well draining soil. Winter protection as well if you live in Zone 5 or lower.
here’s some more info:
Hardiness: USDA Zone 5
Bloom Time: Late summer
Bloom Color: Lavender
Foliage Color: Green
Size: 8-12 feet tall, 4-5 feet wide
Exposure: Full sun
Soil: Grows in about any soil unless it is either really wet or dry.
Pruning: In late fall or early spring. Can be heavily pruned.
Watering: Medium moisture
Wildlife: None
Type: Deciduous
Fertilizing: Fertilize in early spring by applying a slow release fertilizer specialized for trees & shrubs. Follow the label for recommended rate of application.
Uses: Late season color, groupings or masses, perennial or shrub borders, specimen, screens or hedges.
Hope this helps! Tricia
August 12th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Why are the flowers on one of my rose of sharon dropping daily by the dozens?. Both are well cared for, get good sun and are feed on a regular basis.
August 12th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Tom I’ve never had a problem like that with my tree, but I’ve heard that the Rose of Sharon can be affected by tiny little bugs - I think they are white - and that they can cause bud drop. Take a close look at your Rose of Sharon’s buds and see if you can see tiny bugs on them.
If you find bugs you could try going to the Gardenweb forums and ask questions as to how to get rid of the bugs. Well .. even if you don’t find bugs I’d go there, as there are a lot of very experienced gardeners in the forums and I’m sure that if I haven’t hit on your problem they’ll be able to help you figure it out.
Hope this helped!