Hibiscus syriacus - Rose-of-Sharon or Shrub Althea (Malvaceae) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hibiscus syriacus is a shrub with large showy flowers naturalized or neglected areas in single- or double-flowering form. Rose-of-Sharon Twigs has flowers with solid colors or bicolors that bloom -thin and gray, white-lenticeled, with raised leaf scars all summer long and has a distinctive vase-shaped and small buds growth habit. -stems and branches do not branch very much unless pruned, resulting in many long, straight stems that FEATURES originate from about 0.5-1.5' above the ground that Form give rise to the overall vased shape -medium-sized ornamental shrub Trunk (can also be limbed up into small -white-gray and relatively smooth, branching very tree form) near to the ground unless limbed up into tree form -maturing at about 8' tall x 4' wide USAGE -upright vased growth habit, often Function becoming arching with age if -specimen, foundation, entranceway, row, or border never pruned shrub, or planted as a formal or informal hedge -medium growth rate -occasionally limbed up into small tree form Culture Texture -full sun to partial shade -medium texture in foliage and when bare -prefers moist, well-drained soils supplemented with -average density in foliage and when bare organic matter in full sun, but is very adaptable to Assets various soils, soil pHs, soil compaction, drought, -showy flowers bloom throughout the entire summer heavy pruning, and pollution (and is therefore urban -vase-shaped growth habit tolerant) -urban tolerant (especially to heat, humidity, drought, -propagated primarily by rooted stem cuttings, but and poor soils) also by seeds -relatively rapid establishment -Mallow Family, with a few minor leaf disease and Liabilities pest problems; however, old shrubs can develop -spent flowers will close up and shrivel, but take trunk cankers that may eventually prove fatal to the several days to abscise from the plant plant -with maturity, flexible plant stems become weighted -abundantly available, in container and B&B form under the load of prolific summer flowers, and bend Foliage over halfway to the ground -green, alternate, broadly ovate, palmately veined, 3" -older cultivars that set heavy seed crops can self-sow long leaves have 3 distinct lobes with sparsely to form a weedy colony of young shrubs dentate to crenate margins -with advanced age, trunks may develop cankers that -yellowish green autumn color is poor cause individual branches to die, followed by decline Flowers and death of the entire plant -solid colors of white, -poor autumn color red, purple, mauve, Habitat violet, or blue, or -Zones 5 to 8 bicolors with a different -Native to China and India colored throat, depending upon cultivar SELECTIONS -continuous blooms Alternates often occur from July -shrubs that flower in summer (Caryopteris x through Sept., and clandonensis, Clethra alnifolia, Hydrangea species, usually close at night Itea virginica, Philadelphus species, etc.) or that -the 4" wide, single- or flower all summer-long (Buddleia davidii) double-flowering, large- vase-shaped shrubs (Hamamelis x intermedia, petaled, very showy Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum) flowers adorn the plant Cultivars – Variants – Related species throughout the summer -Hibiscus syriacus 'Aphrodite' - pink-mauve single Fruits flowers having a dark magenta eye -green to brown, -Hibiscus syriacus 'Ardens' - mauve-purple double- ornamentally unattrative flowering form 5-valved dehiscent -Hibiscus syriacus 'Blue Bird' - blue-lavender single capsules are persistent flowers having a dark magenta eye throughout much of the -Hibiscus syriacus 'Diana' - profuse blooming winter on older triploid, having pure white single flowers that remain cultivars; most modern open at night, and set few, if any fruit cultivars are virtually fruitless -Hibiscus syriacus 'Minerva' - triploid, with lavender- -if fruit capsules are present, they will shatter over mauve single flowers, each having a red eye the course of the dormant season and spread their -Hibiscus syriacus 'Red Heart' - white single flowers, easily germinating seeds around the base of the each having a scarlet eye parent plant, forming colonies with time if in.