Rose of Sharon (Althea Bush)

Add some summer and fall color to your shrub borders and mixed gardens with a traditional favorite the Rose of Sharon shrub.

You, the butterflies and the hummingbirds will enjoy the hibiscus type flowers from mid-summer into fall. The flowers can be single or double and white to red, purple, violet or blue.

This vase shaped upright shrub is multi-stemmed and grows 8 to 12 feet tall and nearly as wide. This makes it a great shrub for hedging or screening. Or create a focal point by pruning it into a small-scale tree.

Be patient in the spring as this shrub is late to leaf out.

Grow the Rose of Sharon in full sun to part shade. It prefers moist well-drained soil but is drought tolerant once established. It’s hardy in zones 5 to 9, tends to be deer resistant and tolerates the black walnut’s toxic juglone.

A bit more information: Rose of Sharon blooms on the current season’s growth. So pruning, if needed, during the dormant season will not interfere with flowering. They do tolerate heavy pruning. Cut plants back to 2 to 3 buds per branch if you want to encourage larger blooms.