Hibiscus syriacus 'RUSSIAN VIOLET'

Rose-of-Sharon deserves more attention for its abundant flowering in summer. These maintenance-free shrubs come from eastern Asia and are the inevitable ingredient of every summer garden which they highlight with a wide range of coloured flowers. There has been a number of cultivars available since its discovery. They have various bloom colours, shapes and sizes, as well as variegated leaves.

Russian Violet is a popular large-flowered variety of Rose-of-Sharon. Its flowers are purple pink with violet tones and a large burgundy red eye and rays in the centre. Blooming begins in early July and continues until sunny and warm days of September. It has very decorative leaves that are unique. They are narrowly palmate, 3-lobed, 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 over-watered or planted in too heavy soil where it has not established yet.

I am quite surprised when I read comments about its pruning. Especially in older encyclopedias and on some West-European and American websites it is recommended to prune it every spring after frosts to encourage better flowering. Our hibiscus plants were only trimmed when they were young, and we did it before we planted them to achieve a compact shapes if the plants were delivered unsightly. Then nothing. They are located in different places throughout the garden with various soil types and quality, and they all grow relatively the same speed = medium slow (10-15 cm per year). Such short branches, however, are fully mature, woody and well branched which is a guarantee for profuse flowering the following year. If you prune your hibiscus hard, it may result in larger flowers but also in too long branches that will need to be trimmed again next year, and on and on. The only cut I suggest is when you need to reduce size of an old specimen.

Rose-of-Sharon is quite adaptable of soil type. It likes sufficient moisture and if you make sure the plant is not put to standing water at the beginning it will be happy for occasional flooding in summer. Older plants dislike peat. Selective fertilizers for better flowering are convenient. Place it in full sun only. Fully hardy to min. -27°C (USDA zone 5).

Last update 24-03-2017