Plant of the Week: Purple Satin® rose of Sharon

Today is June 7, which happens to be Prince's birthday. I can't think of a more appropriate plant to celebrate the occasion than Purple Satin® Hibiscus syriacus.

Purple Satin® rose of Sharon provides an exuberant display of purple flowers in summer. It will do best in full sun, and gets 8-12' tall.

Purple Satin® rose of Sharon

It is hardy only to USDA Zone 5, so probably isn't a great choice for Prince's hometown of Minneapolis, but folks in very warm climates will appreciate how it takes heat and drought.

We like Purple Satin® rose of Sharon for its flowers. Not just the color, although that is just as fabulous as the Purple One himself.

Purple Satin® is a seedless rose of Sharon. Anyone who has ever spent an afternoon pulling up seedlings and cursing their decision to plant a 'Blue Bird' or other seedy variety will appreciate this.

Other sterile, non-invasive rose of Sharon varieties include Sugar Tip® and Sugar Tip® Gold, Azurri Blue Satin®, and Orchid Satin® Hibiscus.

Hibiscus syriacus have a lot of great qualities:

Purple Satin® rose of Sharon habit

Rose of Sharon are often taken for granted. They're an old-fashioned plant without a lot of plant snob appeal. But sometimes we come back to old-fashioned things because it turns out they're pretty good.

Hibiscus syriacus will grow in hot, dry conditions, and tolerate drought and clay soil. It's tolerant of black walnut, too, but that may not be the issue we were all taught it was.

It's also considered to be deer-resistant, although we all know that's relative. We know that deer are a real problem in a lot of areas and just when you think you've found a plant that they don't like they change their mind. A really good resource for this is the Rutgers University website. We also have a cool new video highlighting deer-resistant plants. Feel free to share it with your readers if deer are a problem in your area.

Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles