confederate rose

Once again--my confederate rose has many many buds and I wonder if I should pinch some of them off. Will this make larger blooms?

No, not likely. If it has adequate water, sunlight, and fertile soil you will get good blooms. Emphasis on sunlight. If the blooms form a "candelabra", the center one will usually mature first. Some folks trim the middle flower so the whole candelabra blooms at once. I never do because it is a lot of trouble and doesn't make any difference to the plant. Ialsways deadhead AFTER the candelabra is finished, so the plant won't spend energy on making rose hips.

Thanks for the info, greenjay--that's a big help!

Catlover,

Your confederate rose is not really a rose. It is a type of hibiscus. Mine are loaded with buds and starting to bloom. The one that I have had the longest is now about 15-18' tall and is no longer herbaceous. The older branches simply lose their leaves in the winter. Please do not disbud your plant. The blooms should be large even when the "tree" is loaded with buds.

Aren't they gorgeous starting about this time of the year?

I'm sorry if there was any confusion. HS is completely correct -- hibiscus should NOT be cut while it is blooming. The hardy hibiscus we have her (also known as Rose of Sharon) really needs 100% full sun to thrive.

Hi, Greenjay!

When I saw that you were from CO, I knew that you thought it was a 'rose'. Lots of people down south confuse it and do not realize that it is a form of hibiscus. ROS also thrives here. I only wish that the confederate rose was more hardy. They are GORGEOUS this time of the year.

BTW, HS stands for High School! I teach math.

My conferate rose is loaded too...I have one that is about ten feet tall and one that is only about five feet tall..can't tell why the shorter one isn't taller...they bloom at the same time..not sure if the shorter one is needing fertilizer..what do you use on yours...do you feed them now while they are blooming? The shorter one is in full sun and the taller one gets sunn most of the day as well..having them only two years not really sure of what they need to flourish...thanks for any tips!
JanetS

Janet,

I don't recall ever fertilizing mine. It was a tiny stick that my aunt put in a cleaned cottage cheese container filled with sand. I kept it watered and planted it in the yard where it ocassionally floods (but not for long). It grew to 12' that first year and died to the ground for the next two or three years. Now, it only loses a few of the smaller diameter branches.

It seems to like lots of water but did not wilt during the rare, prolonged summer drought this past summer. I have a feeling that is because it's roots are well planted deep into the ground.

Given time, most likely both of yours will be 12-15' tall.

One year I tried to keep mine a more manageable size by pruning it back by half 3 times during the growing season. It seemed to be working and once the buds set I stopped pruning and all of a sudden that thing took off like I had never pruned it and was still 12' tall when the flowers opened. Confederate roses are survivors!