Rose Of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus)

Hibiscus syriacus "Lil Kim"
Hibiscus syriacus “Lil Kim”

Zones: 5 – 9
Light: Sun to Part Shade
Bloom Time: Late Summer to Fall
Height: 6′ to 12′
Spread: 6′ to 8′

Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) is a 6-foot to 12-foot tall, low-maintenance, deciduous bush with a vase-shaped habit and large showy flowers that appear in late summer and continue through fall.

Since it blooms at the end of the summer when many other plants are not at their best, it makes a great addition to the back of your full-sun (or part shade) garden border.

This shrub is remarkably easy to grow, doesn’t require fertilizer and only needs to be pruned to maintain its shape.

Since it blooms on this year’s growth, if you do wish to prune it, cut the branches back in spring before it has begun to grow, or in the fall after it has finished flowering. Otherwise, you’ll lose a lot of this year’s flowers.

The only thing to watch for? Some Rose of Sharon varieties self-seed vigorously. So you may be pulling out a lot of little Hibiscus plants in the spring.

Trimming the plant in the fall after it has finished flowering will remove the seed heads and make this less of an issue.

Hibiscus "Sugar Tip"
Hibiscus “Sugar Tip”

Although there are many varieties of Rose of Sharon (I have at least 5 of them in my garden!), the Hibiscus ‘Sugar Tip’ is my favorite.

It has variegated leaves and really pretty light pink flowers with maroon centers.

Buy it HERE*

This post was originally published on June 16, 2020 but was updated with new content on June 18, 2022.