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Hibiscus syriacus 'Minsycbb2b' IGLOO® Rose-of-Sharon
Hibiscus
Hibiscus syriacus is a deciduous shrub from the mallow family (Malvaceae), native to East Asia – especially China, Korea, and India – and one of roughly 300 species in the genus Hibiscus. It reached Europe as early as the late 16th century, with the first recorded cultivation dating back to 1596. The species was scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 in his work Species Plantarum. The specific epithet syriacus refers to the fact that the first specimens he studied came from gardens in Syria, although the species does not grow wild there. Interestingly, in South Korea it has become the national flower and a symbol of perseverance, even appearing in the national anthem. I still reckon that it deserves much more attention than what is actually gets because with its long summer flowering in a range of colours that can brighten any garden, I consider it an essential part of a blooming summer garden.
Few growers specialize in breeding Rose-of Sharon, so when someone dedicates themselves to it purposefully and long-term, they soon become recognized. One such prominent research station is Hortival Diffusion in France, where an entire team is devoted to hibiscus development. From the beginning, the team was led by Patrick Pineau, whose work was later taken over by Pierre Chaussard upon his retirement. Both men previously worked on developing new, resilient grapevine varieties within INRA (National Institute for Agricultural Research). Thanks to their innovation, France now has the first generation of officially registered resistant cultivars, which allow for a reduction in chemical vineyard treatments by up to 80%. After moving to the Minier nursery, their focus shifted to ornamental plants with attractive flowers or foliage, strong structure, and durability suitable for both home gardens and urban greenery — including abelias, potentillas, cherry laurels, barberries, ninebarks, spiraeas, and of course, the aforementioned Rose-of-Sharon. They’ve already introduced many successful varieties — such as improved older cultivars like SUP’BRIDGE and SUP’HEART, the double-flowered French Cabaret® series, the Chateau® series (currently popular mainly in the USA), and more are steadily being added.
IGLOO® is a Rose-of-Sharon cultivar which is, in a word, stunning, and its name is spot-on – a glance at the flower evokes a cold igloo, which in this case will not melt. On the contrary, it seeks out the summer sun and basks in it. The flowers are white with delicately cool bluish edges, as if they wanted to sip ink but changed their mind at the last moment, ending up just a pale bluish-violet. They are large, with a small red eye at the center and a pale cream column topped with stigmas and stamens – typical of the mallow family (such as mallows or hollyhocks). The column is partially hidden among several smaller, stunted petals. The shrub grows at a moderate rate (20–30 cm per year) and reaches a height of 2–3 meters, maintaining an upright, densely branched habit. It was first introduced in 2024.
It has very decorative leaves that are unique. They are shallowly lobed, palmate, mid to dark green and coarsely toothed. If they turn yellow in summer the plant manifests too much water at the roots. They are either overwatered or planted in too heavy soil where it has not established yet.
Pruning is an issue that always gets me started here. Hard pruning leads to larger flowers, that's true, but also production of long, immature, flexible twigs. The only cut I recommend is such that rejuvenates old plans – prune it hard in early spring by 50-75 % and let it grow for another 10 years or so. Rose-of-Sharon is quite adaptable of soil type. It can take drought but does not look good if dry for too long. It loves moisture fully established plants thrive on occasional flooding in summer, but you cannot transplant it into standing water. Old plants dislike peat. Selective fertilizers enhancing flowering are convenient but not crucial. Place it in full sun only. Fully hardy to min. -27 °C (USDA zone 5) and not suitable for pots.
Last update 31-08-2025
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- STANDARD QUALITY - Plants of this group are 1st class quality with number of branches and overall density adequate to their size and age, considering they were container grown.
- DE LUXE QUALITY - This label guarantees a luxurious quality of manually selected plants that, compared to their height and age, are exceptionally dense and beautiful.
- EXTRA - These plants are usually mature and bigger specimens with exceptional overall appearance.
- STANDARD (as described in the plant form) means a tree with a trunk of 190-210 cm and a crown at the top, unless specified differently. The commercial size for trees is their girth measured in the height of 1m from ground.
- HOBBY - These plants are of the same quality as our standard-quality plants but younger and therefore cheaper.
- SHRUB - a woody plant with branches growing bushy from the ground level.
- HALF-STANDARD or MINI-STANDARD - a small tree with shorter trunk, its size is usually specified.
- FEATHERED - These are trees with branches growing already from the base of the trunk and up along the stem.
- GRASSES and PERENNIALS - Sizes given usually read the diameter of the pot or the clump, as specified.
