How to Prune Guides for Blue Bird Rose of Sharon
Blue bird rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) is also known by its French name, "oiseau bleu," or "shrub Althea." While it can grow up to 10 feet tall, blue bird rose of Sharon is also a fine choice for a container or above-ground planter on a patio, porch or deck, particularly if your soil is too alkaline. It requires an average amount of water and yearly pruning. When properly tended, it produces sky blue flowers with small red centers. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Use sharp pruning shears that have been disinfected prior to use. This will reduce the risk of transmitting disease to your rose of Sharon.
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Prune your rose of Sharon to allow clearance beneath its branches---which tend to droop as it grows---or to train it to grow on one trunk instead of multiple trunks. If you wish to train it, do so in late winter.
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Prune every winter to remove 1/3 of the wood, including the oldest branches and any weak growth at ground level. This kind of pruning will also encourage some of the center branches to grow woody and sturdy. Rose of Sharon flowers on new wood, so pruning it in winter will give it plenty of time to produce new wood for summer flowering.
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Prune the shrub hard in late winter or early spring and it will produce fewer, but much larger flowers by summer. If you prune it occasionally it will produce smaller flowers but in greater number. Because the Rose of Sharon flowers on new wood, neglecting to prune it will result in fewer flowers that will appear less impressive each season.
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