How to Care for a Rose of
Sharon Bush
By Faith Wright-Draper aka byfaithonly
First of all let’s get one thing perfectly
clear a Rose of Sharon bush is not a rose bush
but rather is in the Hibiscus family. Caring for
a Rose of Sharon bush is relatively simple and
the little work that is required is well worth
the effort to enjoy the beautiful flowers in late
spring to fall season.
There are many varieties of Rose of Sharon
available. The full height will range anywhere
from 5 feet up to as much as 12 feet and the
bushes will produce blooms in varying shades of
blue, purple, pink, and white. All Rose of Sharon
bushes require pretty much the same care.
Care of your Rose of Sharon bush should start
from the time you bring it home. You will want to
select a spot in full sun and the bushes prefer
moist but well drained soil. Once you’ve
picked your location then you will need to dig a
hole to plant the Rose of Sharon in. Whether
planting one or several each hole should be as
deep as the root ball on the plant and at least 3
times the depth of the whole.
If your soil is good then you won’t need to
do anything to the dirt but if not then you will
want to apply a generous helping of compost
before planting. Once your hole is dug fill it
with water and let that soak in before doing
anything else. Next you will place your Rose of
Sharon bush in its hole and fill in with half the
dirt you removed from the hole.
Now you will fill the whole again and let it soak
in and then add the balance of the soil from the
whole. Pat the dirt down gently to remove any air
pockets that might be in the dirt and add a light
layer of mulch to help keep down weeds and hold
in moisture. Your now ready to set back and enjoy
your beautiful Rose of Sharon bush.
As for any other care of a Rose of Sharon bush
each spring you should add fresh compost under
the bush and an inch or two of mulch. If your
bush starts to crowd surrounding plants you can
prune it if you’d like but this should be
done only in late winter (southern areas) or
early spring (northern areas). This is because
the blooms develop on new growth at the ends of
branches each year so you don’t want to cut
that off – best to wait until after it
blooms.
Rose of Sharon bushes are spectacular alone or
grouped with other shrubs or bushes. A row of
Rose of Sharon makes a beautiful natural fence.
Don’t panic though if spring comes and goes
and your Rose of Sharon hasn’t bloomed
– they tend to bloom late spring early
summer (even leaves come on late) but the blooms
last well into autumn. An added benefit of Rose
of Sharon bushes is the birds (particularly
humming birds) and butterflies love them and are
frequent visitors to the blooms.
| Faith Wright-Draper (aka
byfaithonly) has been writing for over 40
years as a journalist, ghostwriting, and
freelancing. She currently writes for
several blogs, freelances, and on her own
website www.byfaithonly.com
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