what could be wrong?

I was given a rose of sharon, that i thought was pot bound... it was so sickly looking. i have seen the look in lots of other plants. I thought it just needed to be potted up. the growth was stunted and the wood, well very woody and gray. well since than it has bloomed like mad, but the leaves are still very underdeveloped and they have brown edges. i should also write that this plant was a 15 gallon standard, that was neglected for three years... and over watered. is there any hope in reclaiming its beauty?

Can you post a picture? As long as you've corrected any problems it might have been having (overwatering, rootbound, etc) then I suspect it'll probably come back next year and look better. They're deciduous so it's probably getting ready to lose its leaves for the year, that could be why they aren't looking their best.