Plant of the Week: Purple Pillar Rose of Sharon

Supermodel

You know what I mean. Tall, thin and beautiful. An unattainable goal for most of us, but we can get a taste of supermodel star power in our gardens. Purple Pillar™ rose of Sharon is a new Hibiscus syriacus with a uniquely fastigiate habit. Think of it like a Fine Line® Rhamnus with pretty purple flowers. Paulina Porizkova rather than Ric Ocasek, if you will. (I really like both Fine Line Rhamnus and The Cars, but you get the idea.)

Purple Pillar rose of Sharon grows 10-16' tall and 2-3' wide. Wow! Think of what you could do with that: screens, hedges, patio containers. Anywhere you need a little privacy and/or color in a narrow space, this plant is a great choice. Like most hibiscus, it will do best in full sun. It is hardy to USDA Zone 5.

Large, semi-doubled summer blooms adorn Purple Pillar rose of Sharon.

Fastigiate plants

Fastigiate is a fancy way of saying tall and thin. Plants with this characteristic add a lot to landscapes. For one, they fit into narrow spaces. Anyone working in a cramped urban or suburban site will appreciate that.

They also add a very desirable vertical line to designs. It can be a very effective visual 'pop' in the landscape. A line of tall, narrow plants is quite elegant. Kind of like the Rockettes. Any show is better with the Rockettes, and any garden is better with a a vertical plant or three.

Fastigiate plants like Purple Pillar rose of Sharon make a stunning addition to the landscape.

Check out this nice slideshow of garden allées. While you may never have a stately mansion and estate of your own, you can probably grow a more modest version of the allée at your own home.

Here are some good options for tall, narrow plantings:

• Sunjoy® Gold Pillar Berberis 
• 'Dee Runk' Buxus 
• 'Green Arrow' Chamaecyparis 
• Patti O™ Ilex crenata 
• Castle Wall™ Ilex x meservae 
• North Pole® Thuja 

You can create a similar effect with a hydrangea tree: H. paniculata is best for that. 'Limelight' is a particularly good variety for standards.

And here it is, a flashback to Friday Night Videos. 

Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles.