Rose of Sharon

When is the best time to plant a Rose of Sharon bush, spring or early summer? And will Miracle Grow liquid keep that long in a gallon jug or will it go bad? And what is the best to plant it in, shade or sun, I have been told either way.

If your temps begin to cool down some by next month I don't see any problem planting it then. I prefer to plant all my trees and shrubs in the fall because they don't have to struggle in the hot summer sun. Make sure you keep it well watered (but not drenched) until it gets established. I don't know how long "that long" is but I've kept Miracle Grow liquid for at least a year and it was still good.

Thank you very much, your answer is just what I wanted to see.

In your area spring is probably the best time to plant, but fall should work too as long as you make sure it's early fall rather than late fall when you plant it. You want to plant early in fall so that it has time to settle in and get established a bit before you get really cold weather. I'm not sure what part of OH you're in, but I think these are only hardy to zone 5 and since you're in either zone 5 or 6 you're near the bottom end of their hardiness range, so if it doesn't have time to get established before the winter it could be more susceptible to winter damage than it would normally be.

I would plant it in sun if you want the best blooming performance--they may be able to grow in more shade but they'll bloom best if they get full sun.

Thanks you guys for your help, I think you are right about planting in the spring, that way the plant does not have to struggle through the winter. Our winters are usually pretty severe, so I think I will plant the bush in the springtime. I give up on trying to start a plant from a cutting, I have tried 3 times and all 3 have died. I will have a bush WITH ROOTS already on them before I plant any. I think I will take your advice and plant them in the spring ecrane3, I will think about whether to plant them in the shade or sun, some of them do well in the sun, and some of them do well in the shade. My neighbor's is in the full sun and they bloom like crazy, so I might try that. Thanks again.

Do you already have the plant(s)? If so you may be better off planting in the fall unless you've got someplace warmer than outdoors to keep it for the winter. Being in a pot tends to knock about a zone off the hardiness, so it'll have a better chance of making it through the winter in the ground rather than in a pot. But if you don't have the plant yet, then spring is a bit better time to plant in your area, especially for plants like this where you're toward the lower end of their hardiness range.

RoS is one tough cookie. Also the national tree of Korea...I think. Around here it's a weed. They spread seed and sprout freely. I bet half my pitiful turf is green only because of the 3in. RoS's that persist mowing after mowing. I wouldn't at all be surprised if one of them would actually sprout a flower! They're that tough.
As far as transplanting in the fall goes I think you'd be fine honestly. The sooner, the better, of course. You could probably do it this weekend actually. Night time temps are cooling off and you could do a 2-3in layer of mulch now to help keep the roots moist and hydrated during the last few hot weeks we've got left. As long as the plant has a well established root system and the plant itself isn't a lanky, gangly mess I believe you'll be good. It certainly couldn't hurt to plant in the sunniest spot available, and maybe trim off some of the top. But you might want to Google pruning these since I'm not sure if they bloom on new or old growth. I've found it's best to remove whole branches rather than use stub cuts. It just looks better on these, I think. The only thing I think would be a real requirement would be mulch. You don't have to go out and buy mulch either. Just use your mower to chop up a pile of leaves this fall and pile them on. Create an area at least twice the diameter of the root-ball to provide insulation for the roots. Oak leaves will pack tightly and shirk off the bulk of the water from going into the ground. Since you're not worried about watering during the winter months this isn't a problem but just be sure to remove them when Persephone returns to the Earth next spring. And since all leaves will eventually settle down to probably less than half their original volume don't be afraid to really pile them on there!
As far as winter weather goes, bring it on! Snow is a gardeners best friend in the winter. It forms an insulating blanket over the ground and actually protects the seeds, sprouts, etc. in the garden from the colder, more extreme air temperatures we experience in the winter months. The hard, prolonged freezes are the big problem in winter. But remember all those chopped up leaves you put over those tender, dormant roots. Rest assured they're doing their job and keeping your prize alive.
I wish it snowed more like it did back in the seventies and early eighties when I was a kid. I drive a Jeep, so I'm not missing any work, but a good covering of snow does so much more good than the "bad" it does.

And yeah - there's sooo much salt in Miracle Grow I doubt any slime or mold could grow in there!

I rescued a Rose of Sharon from my neighbor's Yard Waste barrel a few years ago. Finally put it in the ground two years ago, still no blooms (I understand they were purple in the original garden). The little buds at the tips of the branches get fat, then vanish. I presume there is insufficient sun in this location, which is the case with nearly my entire yard! At least it offers a bit of green.....who needs flowers? Bah! Humbug!

If it was an issue of not enough sun, I don't think it would even form flower buds in the first place. The fact that it's making buds and then losing them says there's probably something else going on. When you say "vanish", are they totally gone, or are they falling to the ground and you see them lying around there? If they're totally disappearing then I'd suspect deer are eating them, but if the buds are falling off then it could be any number of things.

Hi, ecrane. Sorry, I don't remember your real name. Love all your answers, tho! This time, no dice---we have no deer. Only the dreaded (but cute) 'coons. The buds do vanish, tho.

I have a young rose of sharon plant that I planted this last summer, finally found out what kind of plant it is! It has roots and is established, but it is young, do I need to put anything over it when it gets real cold or will it just go dormant and come back up in the spring? I have a few leaves on it, they are not chopped up, don't have a lawn mower, do I need to really pile on the leaves? I love this site, it has helped me a lot! Thanks for all your help and advice.

I have RoS up against my brick wall/side of house in my side yard which gets late afternoon sun - after 3pm. The first autumn I lived here (ten years ago) I transplanted 6 scraggly, pathetic-looking plants from a full sun area. The previous owner had planted them a year before I moved in. That next summer they took off and bloomed like crazy and they have ever since. I'm starting to get some dead wood now and then but they still do great. In fact, I have to prune them heavily every other year - mine regularly get 12-15 ft tall. Strangely enough, I don't get the tons and tons of 'babies' like most people say they have with RoS. I have minimal mulch around them and I'm right on the edge of zone 6a/b. One thing to remember in the spring is that RoS isn't the first thing to leaf-out or bloom. I have lots of other plants that are well on their way by the time RoS starts to gets its' first leaves.

Di

Whoops, meant to add that since I am farther south than you it probably wouldn't hurt to add the leaves as a bit of mulch the first few years, especially since you get some brutal winters up there.

We had a killer winter this past year and our RoS babies didn't suffer too much. Unfortunately, down here we get thousands of babies! Hundreds would be a welcome relief! Luckily when they're young and tender the break down in the compost pretty quickly.

It really couldn't hurt to mulch with something for a winter or two though. It really doesn't matter if the leaves are chopped or not. Whole leaves tend to pack down more and are slow to break down. The chopping just kind of aids in water penetration, which really isn't important in winter. As I mentioned they also break down quicker leaving less to remove in the spring, if you choose to. With shredded, rotting leaves near the base of the plant it just provides organic material and trace nutrients to the plant. Pull them back from the trunk a little.

What do you have to say about naked ladies? A friend of mine gave me some bulbs and I planted them this last summer. I didn't water them very much because everyone said not to water them a lot. I went to Landscaping and they said they mostly are care free, I put them between my Irises, was that a good idea? Everthing I have read said they look good among other flowers. I covered the bulbs completly and have a lot of leaves on them, I also have a lot on the ros.

I've never put naked ladies with my irises because my irises are in their own bed. As long as you didn't put them right against the irises(where they might get covered by the iris rhizomes) I don't know that it would matter. Someone else here might have more experience with that. I have them everywhere else in my yard. I absolutely love them - they are so carefree and pretty and it's such a nice surprise to see them all of a sudden. Mine get watered when everything else does - whether by rain or the garden hose. You just don't want to put them in a spot that stays constantly wet because they will rot.

I didn't put them right against the Irises, they are a few inches between them. We have a trellis around the front of our house, and I put the Irises and the naked ladies on the outside of the trellis, because I was told the Naked ladies attract bees and me and my husband are allergic to bees. I am anxious to see what happens in the spring, we are going to get a frost this weekend, it is supposed to get around 39 degrees. Where we have them, the water drains quite well, so we will have to wait and see, but I am very anxious like I said!

I planted a Rose of Sharon just against the house near the chimney and it grows like crazy. It must be a very hardy plant because it certainly is not blooming because of anything I did or didn’t do. It just gets a few hours sun there. It is hard to say any plant belongs only in this zone or that zone because of so many variables in each yard. Micro environments. I did not cover it for the winter time and I have not fed it. I suppose I should prune it but have to learn to learn the way to do it. We do get a lot of volunteers just around the plant itself but they are easily pulled up. The volunteers that are a problem here is maple trees. They are all over the place.

I JUST got a small Rose of Sharon plant, a friend brought it up with him from South Vienna, I planted it deep enough to cover the roots, I watered it with 1 gallon of water, tamped the dirt around it with my foot and covered it with a big pile of leaves. I also had a couple of very small plants that had roots on it too, so I did the same thing with them. Is there anything else I need to do with them? So I should have some good plants come this spring. How many years do I have to wait until they bloom? Any advice would be appreciated. How often do you water in this time of year? Should I leave the leaves on when I water the ones I just planted?

My ROS bloomed the first year I had it. That was two years ago and now the trunk is about 1 1/2 inches thick. Our nights are getting pretty cool and I have noticed other plants dieing down for the year, but this plant just keeps on blooming.

We just pruned all of our RoS 2 weeks ago. They were were just about done blooming - we cut out the dead wood and any crossing branches and then cut it back by half. This is the way we've always done it and have never had any problems.

Unless you are having extreme water issues I wouldn't worry about extra watering with RoS normally. Since it is newly planted I would make sure it is getting adequate water for a while. You can leave the leaves on when you water.

Thank you for your help, the only thing is that there is a freeze warning for tonight. I have a BIG pile of leaves on the new ros, should I water them one more time or leave them alonre? They are next to a fence in the side yard, I think they will be protected some, the other small ones are by the house, I think they might be protected by the house itself. They are not very big plants, but just because they have roots, that does not mean they will survive, does it? I guess I shouldn't be worried that much about it, plants have been around for a long time without the humans help, a friend told me, if they live, they live, if they die, they die. I just like to give them a small helping hand if I can.

I would just leave them alone. RoS are very hardy plants. With a freeze it will probably send them into dormancy and they'll be fine the rest of the winter.

FOR VELVETEENA: I have two ROS one i brought with me from a move 10 years ago and planted it in part shade it seems to thrive in it sspot but has not gotten more than 3 ft tall. The first several years, no flowers, then one, then two and so on. The one I purchased very small 1-2 ft is planted in full sun also about 10 yrs old has now reached around 12 ft high and is covered in blooms every summer. I think their performance depends on location but are def hardy plants. Good luck.

The year before last I had a problem with my Rose of Sharon also. The buds came, then fell off without ever blooming. After some research I decided it was because of incorrect watering. Too much probably. Last summer it bloomed like crazy. It is a fast growing bush and it seems otherwise very sturdy. The bush is only 4 years old and the trunk is 3-4 inches thick. I bought one for my daughterat the same time I bought mine and both bushes grew fast and strong but sideways! I do not know why it does that . I tied it to a pole to straighten it and that seems to be helping.

I appreciate all the comments. What lives, lives. What thrives, thrives. Each plant is a gift and a lesson----even, I suppose, the weeds!

I just wonder that ROS can plant in Glen Ellyn, Il. From reading this Forum, I get the answer. Thank you, mableruth!!

I have noticed all the RoS blooming in our area now, and they seem to have more blooms than mine. I have never pruned mine. They never have "babies", not in over ten years of growing, and I have never pruned, they are quite tall and very hardy. If I prune them, will they branch and produce more flowers next year? Any thoughts?
Below is a picture from July 8-you can see one of them at the far right. (not a good pic, sorry.)

I pruned mine and it produced more blooms than last year. The plant looks healthier.

Thanks, I'll give them a "haircut" when they finish blooming.