What is the difference between a Rose of Sharon and a Hibiscus?
I always thought they were 2 entirely different plants, however I have a large bush in my yard that came with the place that I was told was Rose of sharon...
I have repeatedly tried to kill it to no avail :-(... so now i am learning to live with it....
LMK,
SYR36
Gotta ??? for anyone....
The three most common types are tropical hibiscus (H. rosa-sinensis), rose of sharon (H. syriacus) and hardy hibiscus (H. moscheutos). The tropicals are not hardy in your zone or mine and are the pricey ones. LOL The rose of sharons are the ones that generally grow pretty tall, sometimes die back to the ground and usually have flowers about three inches across in pink, white or purple. Lastly you have the hardy hibiscus, which is tropical looking with large leaves and very large flowers, often up to 8-10 inches across and comes in shades of pink, white or red. These die or need to be cut back to the ground each year. I hope that is what you wanted to know. Had to think fast because my baby decided she is starving. :)
Baa
Mar 25, 2002
SYR
In the UK Rose of Sharon is an entirely different plant from Hibiscus, maybe this is the one you were thinking of - Hypericum calycinum.
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=lang_en&q=hypericum+calycinum
Baa,
That is very pretty, but that is not what I have. Wish it were!!!! LOL
I will have to watch this one closely this year to see what its flowers look like....
SYR
Did you check the Plants Database? Here is the 'hardy hibiscus' http://plantsdatabase.com/go/982.html Here is the 'rose of sharon' http://plantsdatabase.com/go/788.html and here is the 'tropical' http://plantsdatabase.com/go/413.html Because things are called by different names in different places (or by different people), you may or may not have the hardy hibiscus or the rose of sharon. I'm willing to bet you don't have the tropical one, but that is what a lot of people consider THE Hibiscus. I also grow several other types from seed each year and have one that self seeds in my garden that has yellow flowers (Hibiscus trionum). Now, can someone tell me why I can't get the halberd leaved one to grow from seed? LOL
Baa
Mar 25, 2002
SYR
Sorry my mistake :) I'd love to know what you do have there!
These hardy hibiscus grow dinner plate size, they are very much unlike the rose of sharon, which has smaller blooms and seems to be a bush. I don't know if we get down to -21 degrees, if I don't have these mulched, which I don't, they might not be hardy, so bye, bye to hardy hibiscus. We have had such mild winters for last 3-4 yrs. no problem, don't even cover them.
Gloria
I've noticed that the nurseries here call the H. syriacus "Rose of Sharron" and the H. moscheutos "hardy Hibiscus", but my mom called the H. syriacus "Althea Bush" and the H. moscheutos "Rose of Sharron". That's why it's good to also know the scientific name because common names can apply to different plants.