Hibiscus syriacus
(Rose of Sharon)
In my first garden we had a beautiful violet blue one. Here I have this gorgeous pinky purple specimen. I have also seen white ones, with a pink centre. The leaves are a pale, fresh green, and the shrub’s upright growth means the flowers are shown off proudly to their full extent, attracting lots of bees and insects.
It is the national flower of Korea, and originally comes from Asia. Each indivudual flower lasts only a day, but there are hundreds of them!
This is another one in my garden… also a pinky lavender colour, but with double flowers…
The greenery doesn’t appear until very late – mid May perhaps. Then the flowers are a wonderful splash of colour late in the year, flowering from the end of July through August, and sometimes even into September. The shrub loves heat and tolerates drought.
The common name “Rose of Sharon” is probably a mistranslation. Originally the Hibiscus flower was believed to come from Syria (hence “syriacus”). The rose of Sharon in the bible was probably a tulip or crocus. In some parts of the world the Rose of Sharon refers to other plants, such as Hypericum (St John’s Wort).
This is a staple in many gardens….I love the native hardy hibiscus as it resembles this lovely Rose of Sharon.
Many people have one in their front gardens here, and it’s lovely to see all the different shades!
I have such marvelous memories of the hibiscus we had growing in our garden. They are truly spectacular when they bloom… Some of ours were as big as dinner plates! Yet even being so large a flower they still managed to hold that beauty in every inch.
I wonder if those big ones are hardy… I have seen them for sale and they are gorgeous!
Beautiful! I didn’t realize they only lasted a day, my mother has a white one with pink on the inside, it is gorgeous!
There are so many different colours – our neighbour has a vivid blue, with a violet centre. Also lovely!
Such a great range of photographs to depict the Rose of Sharon.
Thanks! It looks wonderful against the blue sky.
I love the Hibiskus with its unique wonderful blossoms. We have a blue and a pink purple shrub in
our garden. The little tree growing near the house suffered very much during the last frosty winter.
So we´ve cut it back to give him a last chance. It seems to me like a wonder – the plant recovered
and has got big white blooms with a dark red heart again. I´m sooo happy especially since this hibiscus was a present of my husband when I once was very sick…
Very beautiful photos of the Hibiscus syriacus, Cathy!
I’m glad it recovered Elisabeth. I expect it was all that TLC (tender loving care) you gave it! 😀
Here in Romania I can find white and pink hibiscus plants. They have almost finished flowering due to the dryness since june.
I heard about the heat and drought there. The paler colours are also charming.
Yes, they are beautiful.
There’s a very old specimen in our yard, a white double-flowered. Walking under it when it’s in full-bloom sounds like walking into a beehive. Every pollinator in a 5-mile radius is there!
How lovely! The relatively young double-flowered one in my garden doesn’t attract as many as the single, much older shrub.
This is so pretty, shot against the sky. My mom had a huge Rose of Sharon bush in the yard. It was like the first photo. They don’t seem to be that popular here in Maine. Maybe it is too cold.
Maybe it is. Ours withstood the bitter winter last year, but they can suffer if there’s a long freeze. The sky really was beautiful last week when I took that photo!
What a star of the garden…I will have put to the Rose of Sharon on my list of plants I fantasize about. I have seen pictures in gardening books but none as lovely as yours. 🙂
Thanks Strawberryindigo. It is a beautiful shrub… 😀
The hibiscus has become one of my favourite plants. We do have several in our garden. One that looks like yours one that´s a bit paler and two very pale pink ones with a pink center.
How lovely. The pale ones are particularly pretty.