The Rose of Sharon is one of my favorite plants.
It is actually a deciduous shrub and a member of the hibiscus family. While there are many cultivars (which translates into choices as to color and size) my favorite has always been this beautiful blue, “Blue Satin Rose.”
Gorgeous color for many weeks even here in the hot South. Ours is planted in full HOT sun about four feet away from blacktop and now, in its third full season, I never water it. And it thrives!

Blue Satin 

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I may actually prefer the buds to the full flowers!

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But wait!
We have another Rose of Sharon,

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This is the “Double Purple Althea” because, yes, it has double flowers. We have it had it for three years and it must be 8′ tall this season! The Blue Satin seems to be a slightly slower grower…but that’s fine by me.

Some people have a problem with this shrub self seeding and becoming almost invasive. I’ve never found this…but if you cut off the spent, brown flowers before they go to seed and then fall and scatter on the ground, you have a good chance to prohibit any self seeding.

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What do you think: are you a fan? Can you/do you grow them in your climate?

Final Signature