Rose Of Sharon Growth Rate: What To Do When Rose Of Sharon Is Out Of Control

(Image credit: Cristina Ionescu)

last updated 5 May 2021

Rose of Sharon plants (Hibiscus syriacus) are ornamental hedge shrubs that can be prolific and weedy. When you want to learn how to control rose of Sharon, remember that prevention is always easier than cure. Read on for tips on limiting rose of Sharon growth rate and what to do if your rose of Sharon is out of control.

Is Rose of Sharon invasive?

Rose of Sharon, also called althea rose, is native to eastern Asia. The first plants were brought into this country as ornamentals. What is the rose of Sharon growth rate? They typically grow to 10 feet (3 m.) tall and each plant has many branches. Some plants are very fertile and scatter viable seeds every year. These grow quickly into seedlings in springtime. Unless you act quickly, you will have a little forest of rose of Sharon plants growing in your garden. Because of this, the plants are considered rose of Sharon weeds in some states, even escaping cultivation and naturalizing in the wild throughout the southeast. In fact, four states report the species as invasive. As it naturalizes, it crowds out more desirable native plants.

How to Control Rose of Sharon

If you’ve planted rose of Sharon in your backyard, you shouldn’t panic. You can control this shrub quite easily if you are willing to put in the time before new shoots get out of control. When the rose of Sharon flowers finish blooming, deadheading them takes care of the invasiveness problem. Snip off each faded flower and the developing seed pod under it. That way, you won’t have to worry about seedlings growing. Another possibility for preventing seedlings in your garden is to buy and plant sterile cultivars like Azurri Satin, Sugar Tip, Lucy, Lavender Chiffon, Diana and Minerva. These won’t have seeds, so you won’t have to deal with seedlings.

When Rose of Sharon Is Out of Control

If you’ve waited too long to use preventative methods like deadheading, you’ll have a harder time if you want to control rose of Sharon weeds. In this case, your best bet is to act in spring. How to control rose of Sharon seedlings in spring? Use your hoe to dig them out of the ground, roots and all.

Teo Spengler is a master gardener and a docent at the San Francisco Botanical Garden, where she hosts public tours. She has studied horticulture and written about nature, trees, plants, and gardening for more than two decades. Her extended family includes some 30 houseplants and hundreds of outdoor plants, including 250 trees, which are her main passion. Spengler currently splits her life between San Francisco and the French Basque Country, though she was raised in Alaska, giving her experience of gardening in a range of climates.