The first Rose of Sharon that I ever noticed was a ragged-looking specimen that grew in an alley behind a gas station. Obviously a “volunteer,” the shrub grew in a patch of dirt that had emerged as the asphalt road surface crumbled away. At the time I thought the plant was ungainly and inelegant. Now that age and experience have opened my eyes, I know that the Rose of Sharon that I found so lacking was a spot of beauty in an ugly place, not to mention a model of hardiness and tenacity.
My reward for being so judgmental about Rose of Sharon came six and a half years ago when we moved into our current house and found five of them on the property. Fortunately I was too busy at the time to do anything except let them grow and, eventually bloom. When they did, I was taken with the blooms, and with the fact that these free-flowering plants seemed to require nothing from me. Since then three have been moved, two have been pruned into standard or tree form, and all are doing well. I have come to love them. Hummingbirds find them irresistible as well.
The traditional Hybiscus syriacus or Rose of Sharon is a member of the Malvaceae or Mallow family. The plants love full sun or very light shade, flourish in just about any soil, and bloom prolifically in mid to late summer. The fairly small, glossy leaves sometimes have three lobes, and the bright hollyhock-like flowers come in shades of white, pink, red, lavender or blue-purple. Sometimes the blossoms also have red or pink throats that contrast with the main flower petal color.
Of course Rose of Sharon isn’t perfect. It can reproduce prolifically if left unchecked, producing an expanding grove of offspring within a few years. The shrubs also have a tendency to become “leggy”, with long branches and sparse flowers. The population problem can be corrected by shearing off spent flowerheads before the seed pods develop. Combat legginess by providing adequate light conditions and pruning the shrubs after flowering to keep the plants more compact and tidy.
Or better yet, purchase a hybrid Hibiscus syriacus that has been bred to be less fertile and better mannered. The “Satin” series, bred in the Netherlands and France, feature lots of big single flowers. ‘Blue Satin,’ ‘Blush Satin,’ ‘Rose Satin’ and ‘Violet Satin’ all have red eye zones in the center of each flower. Another group of hybrids introduced by the United State National Arboretum and named after Greek goddesses, feature large blooms, and produce few or no seedlings. The National Arboretum’s Roses of Sharon include the white, single-flowered ‘Diana,’ ‘Helene,’ with red and white blooms, the pink and red ‘Aphrodite,’ and ‘Minerva,’ whose lavender flowers have red eye zones. ‘Minerva,’ which grows to only nine feet tall, is more compact than most other Roses of Sharon.
Lovers of double-flowered plants have many cultivars from which to choose. The English-bred ‘Lavender Chiffon’ and ‘White Chiffon’ look almost like roses. If you like red, try the double or semi-double ‘Boule de Feu.’ The name is French for “Ball of Fire.”
There are also a couple of Roses of Sharon that have variegated foliage: H. syriacus ‘Purpureus Variegatus’ and H. syriacus ‘Meehanii.’ The only downside to these varieties is that their flower buds never completely open.
Hibiscus syriacus does not provide fall color, but its bare upright branches can lend structure to the winter garden. The dried seed pods also work well in winter arrangements. During the growing season a mass planting can form an attractive deciduous hedge that will also make your yard a magnet for hummingbirds and butterflies, not to mention the neighbors.