How to Prune Rose of Sharon

Pruning Rose of Sharon

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Pruning at least once a year makes shrubs look better and keeps them healthier. While pruning rules that affect appearance are specific to each plant (for example, prune a forsythia in late spring, a rose of Sharon in late fall), those having to do with health are more general. You can prune dead or broken branches from a shrub at any time of year. To determine if a branch is dead, gently scrape the bark with your pruning shears to reveal the color underneath. Green or white means it’s alive; brown or black means it’s dead. Use sharp shears (to avoid crushing the wood, which can kill the whole branch), then make a cut about six inches into the live growth of the branch. Your cut should be angled, sloping away from the buds on the branch.
2. Sun and Soil Requirements for Rose of Sharon:
   Rose of sharon prefers full sun and well-drained soil. Older rose of sharon bushes may fall prey to fungal damage if grown in areas without full sun.
3. Uses for Rose of Sharon in Landscape Design:
   Its attractive and plentiful blooms make rose of sharon plant fully capable of holding its own as a specimen. One's ability to shape rose of sharon also makes the shrub a prime candidate for hedges. But since rose of sharon bush is deciduous, it makes an effective privacy hedge only in summer. It could be used to achieve privacy around swimming pools, for instance. However, be aware that its blooms could attract unwanted bees.
   Rose of sharon blooms profusely, and its attractive flowers are its main selling point. Like other types of hibiscus, rose of sharon's flowers bear a striking stamen. Another feature giving the shrub value is its relatively late period of blooming (in the Northeastern U.S., it blooms in August). Rose of sharon is thus able to offer color when many shrubs have long ceased blooming. A heat-lover, rose of sharon is also prized by growers in the Southeastern U.S. who crave plants that can stand up to summer's heat. The plant is reasonably drought-tolerant. Don't give up on rose of sharon, thinking it's dead just because it hasn't leafed out by early summer. Rose of sharon not only blooms late, but leafs out late, as well.