Rose of Sharon Pods

Elisabeth — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:51:00 GMT

Cold winds still blow across my garden. We are having an unseasonably chilly spring, but the increased light has made me want to be outside anyway. The big yard clean-up has begun and with it the annual renewal of the garden. Part of this ritual involves strategically placed pots of pansies and primroses that provide color until the daffodils and other showy bloomers open up.

Like everyone I am cutting back a bit and that means the number of flats of pansies and primroses is less than last year. However, I still want the same number of bountiful pots, so this year I tried something new. In some of the bigger pots I used straight, twelve inch-tall rose of Sharon branches, with their flower-like dried seedpods still attached, massed in the middle of the pot. The branches, which had to be clipped off the shrubs as part of the clean-up, were "planted" in the potting soil. I surrounded the central rose of Sharon display with a collar of colorful purple and yellow pansies. The result was wonderful. The seedpods look like five-petaled flowers and they are a nice shade of golden brown. Later, I will replace them with other tall plants and probably substitute coleus for the pansies.

But right now, I have been rescued by a plant that I used to disdain--rose of Sharon. Now, not only do I love it for the beautiful late summer flowers, but I see the artistic possibilities of the seedpods.

A Rose in August

Elisabeth — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:11:00 GMT

At midsummer, rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) comes into its own. Related to holly hocks, mallows and tropical hibiscus, the flowers can be white, pink, red or blue-purple. Some have bi-colored blooms with maroon centers or eye zones.

Rose of Sharon are medium to large deciduous shrubs that can also be trained to grow as small trees. The medium green leaves are toothed and attractive, though nobody buys rose of Sharon for the leaves. Once the single or double flowers have faded, the large seed pods keep the plants looking interesting throughout the fall. If not removed, they will persist throughout he winter.

A rose of Sharon in full bloom is a gorgeous thing. Individual flowers only last a couple of days, but they on healthy plants they are born in profusion.

If you love double flowers, there are numerous varieties for you. I grow 'White Chiffon' (above), a cultivar with double white flowers that looks fresh and cool in the summer heat. My garden is also home to some older varieties, including single and double-flowered blue-purple varieties. The double, blue-purple flowers darken as they age, making it appear that the shrubs bloom in a variety of colors.

If you have a rose of Sharon that doesn't bloom at all, chances are it doesn't get enough light. If it is near trees, limb up the trees to let a bit more sunshine in. If that isn't possible, move the shrub to a sunnier spot in the spring or the fall.

Older rose of Sharon varieties and some of the newer ones have one liability--they tend to become "leggy", with long branches and few flowers. The remedy for this is to prune the bush after it flowers. You sacrifice the seed pods (unless you dry them), but the pruning will produce a bushier plant with more blooms.

To standardize your rose of Sharon, pick one strong trunk and lop off any others. Trim off all branches that are lower than three feet from ground level. Continue to keep the plant pruned in this way and eventually your will have a lovely small tree.

Rose of Sharon also makes a fine deciduous hedge.

Rose of Sharon, while not a real rose, blooms at a time when many garden roses are sulking. Treat it as a treasure.

Growing Wise : Hibiscus syriacus

Rose of Sharon Pods

A Rose in August