Removing Rose of Sharon
Another garden transformation is underway at my Bedford, New York farm.
Some of you may be familiar with my long and winding pergola garden. One side is filled with lots of flowering bulbs and perennials that bloom at different times throughout the year. In spring, a palette of purple, blue, and lavender covers the area. And in summer, it erupts with hundreds of bright orange lilies. On the other side, I grow Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus syriacus - upright deciduous shrubs that produce colorful, cup-shaped flowers from summer to fall. Rose of Sharon is valued for its tight form and large blossoms in shades of blue, lavender, pink, and white - providing a lovely show of color when few other plants are in bloom. This season, I decided to move all the Rose of Sharon. Transplanting Rose of Sharon is not difficult to do, but there are some tips that will help make this chore easier.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- This photo was taken five weeks ago when the Rose of Sharon was in full bloom. My Rose of Sharon shrubs are planted on the back side of my clematis pergola facing what I call the soccer field, a large area where my grandson, Truman loves to play. Rose of Sharon is also known as althaea or althea. And contrary to its common name, the plant is not a rose at all, but a member of the Malvaceae or “mallow” family native to Asia and India.
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- Blooms on these shrubs can range from light blue, white, pink to red, or lavender. Rose of Sharon blooms are short-lived, but the shrub produces a lot of buds on its new growth, which provides prolific flowering. The leaves are also deeply-lobed and light to medium green in color.
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- I originally planted Rose of Sharon here for the bluer shades, but I also love how they attract lots of butterflies and hummingbirds. These plantings have grown nicely here in this location – providing a nice hedge and backdrop for other flowers, but it was time to move them to a better spot.
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- While I love Rose of Sharon, the pink flowers just did not belong in this garden. But don’t worry – I will find a more ideal location. The single or doubled flowers are often wavy-looking, giving the impression they’re made of delicate crepe paper. Rose of Sharon bears large trumpet-shaped flowers that have prominent yellow-tipped stamens.
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- Rose of Sharon shrubs can grow to about eight to 10 feet tall with a spread of four to six feet. Rose of Sharon prefers full sun and well-drained soil.
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- Earlier this week, I instructed Pasang, who is our resident tree and shrub pruner, to cut the Rose of Sharon down to about three feet from the ground. Once these plants are tall, trimming the branches back will make transplanting them much easier.
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- The long branches are carefully cut into bundles. The bundles are then carefully carried to the lawn adjacent to the pergola.
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- Here is one shrub completely cut back to just a few feet tall. These shrubs will remain in place a little longer. Moving the shrubs in the fall when they are completely dormant will be less stressful, and will give them all winter and spring to establish a strong root system before their flowering period. It is also possible to transplant in spring.
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- Here is the project in progress. Many of the branches have already been cut back. Doing this does not hurt the shrub at all. The Rose of Sharon is a hardy plant that reproduces itself year after year with new shoots coming up from the ground.
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- Bundles are moved by group to a nearby tarp – everything is done as neatly as possible to cut down on any cleanup time later.
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- Once a group of branches are on the tarp, Chhiring takes them to an area closer to the carriage road.
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- This is what the bed and Rose of Sharon look like after the plants are all cut back. On this side of the pergola, I also grow catnip, Ajuga ‘Black Scallop’, and hundreds of spring-blooming bulbs – all bordered by a long row of boxwood.
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- Rose of Sharon wood is surprisingly white. The wood dries to a somewhat yellowish color but sands up very pale. It is also a very soft wood. The cut branches are about three inches across. The part above the root flare is still in the shed and I’m hoping it won’t split like this small specimen.
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- Here are the cut limbs all ready to go through the chipper.
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- I am fortunate to have my own wood chipper, a machine with sharp moveable blades that can cut wood up into small pieces. Branches, as well as underbrush, and other old plantings, can all run through the chipper – everything is returned to the earth, organically and efficiently.
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- The chipper is comprised of several distinct parts, including a hopper, a collar, and the actual chipper with blades. An internal power source, typically a combustion engine, can range from three to 1000 horsepower depending on the chipper’s size.
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- When chipping in an area where the wood chips cannot be distributed right away, they are collected into the back of the dump truck.
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- Chhiring rakes the areas around each Rose of Sharon shrub to remove any leftover debris. Whenever transplanting shrubs, aside from doing at the right time, also consider its light requirements as well as its spacing and watering needs.
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- Look how open it is once the shrubs are all removed. It looks so different and so clear.
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- Looking in this direction, one can see how much removing the Rose of Sharon has changed the pergola’s appearance. All the orange tiger lilies have finished blooming and have been deadheaded. It is easy to see the beautiful weeping hornbeams beyond.
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- Still blooming under the pergola are the passionflowers. Their vines climb up a few of the granite posts. The passionflower has a wide, flat petal base with five or 10 petals in a flat or reflex circle. The ovary and stamens are held atop a tall, distinctive stalk encircled by delicate filaments. The stigmas start high above the anthers and slowly bend backward for easy pollination.
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- There was also a single clematis bloom. Clematis is a genus of about 300-species within the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. The name Clematis comes from the Greek word “klematis,” meaning vine.
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- I am looking forward to sharing more photos with you as I continue to transform this space. Stay tuned for where we transplant the Rose of Sharon and what we put in its place. Have a great gardening weekend.
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