I intend on planting three Blue Satin rose of sharons in my back yard. Drainage can sometimes be an issue, however, so I was thinking of adding some mositure-loving redtwig dogwoods and peve minarets to the mix. I'd appreciate any thoughts on this, including placement suggestions. I have a fairly large corner to work with, entirely in the sun, zone 5.
Thanks.
Have you lost your mind... rose of sharon is extremely invasive... its seeds sprout everywhere, by the billions... your neighbors will hate your guts, you'll hate your guts.
I don't know if it has been quite *that* bad for us, but yes, our experience is that Rose of Sharon (the hibiscus) does spread beyond where you plant it (I always thought this was by underground runners but I guess I can't prove whether it was that or seeds since it all happened before we bought the house). This is zone 7, I'm not sure whether it is as true in zone 5.
Redtwig dogwood is, I have read, somewhat the same deal, in the sense that it sends up lots of new shoots (and the recommendation, I think, was to prune back many of the old ones - I think for the best red twig color).
So I'd be kind of amused to watch those two fight it out.
The trunk of the Baldcypress 'Peve Minaret' will stay where it is planted although if it is happy/old it will send up "knees" (growths from the roots).
Sheldon expounded:
I know many people who have rose of sharon plants that don't have this problem at all.
Rose of Sharon is the same as Althea Bush, right? I told my family I was planning to plant some of the seed I harvested from mine, and my aunt, 86 years old, said she had never heard of the seed sprouting. ??? Kinda disappointed me to hear this, perhaps she thinks any sprouts that come up around the root are not from seeds, but from roots???? We all live in southern Arkansas if that makes a difference.
And I'm one of them, Ann. I have had 'Red Heart' for 20 years. It's never produced a seed pod, never any root sprouts. It's single, white with a bright red center. Covered with flowers all summer. Hummingbirds love it!
Emilie NorCal
It roots easily from cuttings. My dear old neighbour gave me a pencil sized branch and just said to stick it in the ground and water it. It took right off with little extra care and is now a small tree.
At my previous address my neighbor had six rose of sharon bushes right up against their fence, in fact they hung over the fence. Those miserable seeds would fall onto my nice lawn and sprout, those things have powerful long roots. After a few years of tolerating the mess I decided to get rid of those bushes. Over one summer about once every two weeks I'd spray those bushes with a very dilute solution of Round Up. Those horrible plants ever so slowly shriveled up and died. The neighbors never spoke to me about it... of course I never told them I hated those stupid bushes.
Go ahead and plant them, you've been warned.
Sheldon expounded:
Instead of talking to the neighbor about it, you killed his shrubs with poison. Oh yea, that's the way to do things.
And you've been told that not everyone has the same problems with rose of sharon. I am sure, however, that everyone would have a problem with you as a neighbor!
I already have them, 2 on the north side of my house, one around the back, and a tiny one in my front yard by the road. They were here when I moved into this house, 10 years ago. I have NEVER had a sprout come up around them ANYWHERE, hence my surprise to hear they were the worst parasites, and easily spread. I thought it was hard to spread. And I don't care for lawns. I like to see flowers and plants, could care less about what type of groundcovering I have. I get that from my grandma. She had so many plants and bushes in her yard that we just mowed the paths around them.
Thanks for the advice, I will have to try that next year.
Arkie
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