Q. I just saw Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) for sale at a local nursery. It reminded me of a yard I saw over 40 years ago in the Huntridge area that had a row of these plants which were spectacular. I was wondering what your thoughts were on this plant in our climate.
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| I think this is a Rose of Sharon, aka shrub althaea. I only identified as a hibiscus and many of you know I have a farm in the Philippines and we have tropical hibiscus there. And now, the crazies are planting tropical hibiscus in LV? |
A. Rose of Sharon is a hardy and fun deciduous shrub for
our climate that grows about 10 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide and covered in
large Hibiscus-like flowers all summer long. Keep in mind it should go into the mesic part of your yard because it is MESIC and not XERIC!!!!. It will not like rock much or unamended soil. But Rose of Sharon is hard to find from local nurseries.
The flowers range in color from white to blue to purple to red depending on the
variety. These shrubs are underappreciated in our climate. There is some great breeding work done on it at Texas A and M at the Vernon Center.
Plant this shrub in a bright
north or east area in the Mojave Desert with compost amending the soil and wood chips as a surface
mulch. It’s not meant to be planted in isolated areas all by itself or surrounded
by rock. It likes companionship in areas with lots of light and wood chip
mulch. It’s considered mesic in its water use and not meant for desert
landscapes.
It’s
easy to propagate from no bigger than pencil-diameter sized cuttings about 8 to 12 inches long
with the leaves removed and dipped in rooting hormone. Use potting soil in
small containers as the propagation medium. Plant no later than early summer. If
grown as a flowering hedge, put them 4 to 6 feet apart and irrigate the row
with drip tubing instead of emitters. Propagating Rose of Sharon and other hibiscus.
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