Rose of Sharon

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nhuntley Holladay, UT(Zone 5a) Jul 20, 2011

Hello Everyone!

My Mom has a very large Rose of Sharon tree in her backyard that she really loves. It's about 10 feet tall and is covered in beautiful blooms! Someone not too far from us has a beautiful Rose of Sharon hedge that they keep about 3 feet tall, and it's covered in blooms that look identical to the tree. Mom wanted to get a hedge growing like it in her front yard, so she purchased 6 or 8 Rose of Sharon plants in gallon pots. They were about a foot tall when she bought them, and now it's 3 years later, and they are still only about a foot tall. I believe that they are all Althaea, but I'm not positive.

Not too long before she bought the plants I had transplanted one that was growing in her backyard, which came up next to her tree. The one I transplanted was about a foot tall, and now it's about 3 feet tall. They all get the same amount of sun and water, so I don't know why the one I transplanted has done so much better than the ones that were purchased.

Do any of you know if it would help to fertilize the small ones? I really don't know anything about Rose of Sharon, and don't know if she just got unlucky with the ones that she bought, or maybe she got lucky with the one I transplanted, but it would be nice if the little ones would catch up to the larger one! They had great roots on them, and the one I moved had barely any root, but it survived nicely.

Any suggestions would be most appreciated!

Natalie

Post #8705277
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WildcatThicket Trenton(close to), TX(Zone 8a) Jul 21, 2011

Were the Rose of Sharon plants root bound in their pots? If so then you can get stunted growth, if you didn't loosen the soil and spread roots when planting that has a good chance of being your problem. The one you transplanted got its roots loosened and is now growing normally you have your answer.

I have plenty of experience with your problem, I have done the same. The picture I posted is a root bound rose root system when planted root bound. It lived 6+ years never got much more than knee high before it croaked. It should have been a 6 footer.



This message was edited Jul 21, 2011 5:07 AM

This message was edited Jul 21, 2011 5:08 AM

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Post #8705467
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nhuntley Holladay, UT(Zone 5a) Jul 21, 2011

I'm pretty sure that they weren't root bound, since I'm a little obsessive about loosening roots when planting. But, it's been a few years, so maybe I'm just not remembering it correctly and they were root bound. I think I'll dig one up this fall and take a look. I did rototill the whole area where they are planted, so the soil was nice and loose, but something isn't right!

Thanks for the suggestion! I really appreciate it!

Natalie

Post #8705957
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