Growing Wise : rose of sharon

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.

Shrub Garden

Elisabeth — Tue, 20 May 2008 12:50:00 GMT

Much has been written about creating lower maintenance gardens by cutting back on annuals and perennials in favor of flowering shrubs. If you choose your shrubs wisely, with thought given to heights, foliage textures and bloom times, you can create a lovely layout and even have plenty of flowering branches for indoor arrangements. The following three genera (groups of related shrub species) are among those that should be key players in any flowering shrub landscape:

Viburnum: This large group of plants is indispensable for summer flowers, fall and winter fruits and sometimes, autumn color. I love the intensely fragrant Viburnum carlesii (Korean spice viburnum), with intensely fragrant white spring flowers and shiny black fruits. A smaller carlesii, V. carlesii 'Compacta', has all the wonderful characteristics of the larger variety, but only grows to be three feet tall. Viburnum trilobum, sometimes known as the American cranberry bush, is another great plant. It also has white flowers and bright red fruits that attract birds. The foliage colors up in the fall, turning red as well.

Hydrangea: There are all kinds of hydrangea out there, and more seem to arrive in the marketplace every day. I especially love the quercifolias or oakleaf hydrangeas (above). Their somewhat conical flower panicles start out white, age to pink and look good fresh or dried. The leaves, which really do resemble oak leaves, turn a gorgeous crimson in the fall. Most everyone also loves the mophead varieties (Hydrangea macrophylla), especially the newer hybrids, like 'Endless Summer', that bloom on bothnew and old wood. Some of the more compact mopheads are perfect for containers or the front of the border. If you have vertical space that needs attention, try Hydrangea petiolaris or climbing hydrangea.

Rose of Sharon: I started out my gardening career with a definite dislike of Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus). Now I value the contribution the hollyhock-like flowers make to my garden in August and early September, a time of the year when little else is blooming. There are lots of Roses of Sharon on the market and most can be grown as shrubs or clipped into standard or tree form. You do have to prune them back at the end of the blooming season so they don't get leggy, but it's a small price to pay for a large amount of loveliness. I especially like 'Diana' (below), a newer variety with pristine white flowers. Grow 'L'il Kim', a dwarf variety, in smaller spaces. 'Kim' has winning white flowers with purple centers.