I have tried several times to overwinter a Rose of Sharon. We live in a very open, windy area and I think it was the harsh winds that killed them. Same with Buddleia. Last year I even mulched with straw and put some insulation around it -- that didn't work either. This year I am trying again and this time I planted a seedling beside my greenhouse in the garden where it will get some shelter from the winds. Keeping my fingers crossed. I have had luck growing them from seed inside and even winter sowing seeds. I have 7 more that I will overwinter in the garage. Marg

I have ws a few different colours and I found this spring that the wine coloured one did not do well in wind nor too much sun.I had wine, blue, pink and white all in the same location. The rest did well and when I moved the wine one to a more sheltered location it has done well also.
What colour is yours?

Over the years I had no luck overwintering Hibiscus Syricus until a seedling I grew from seed was planted beside my deck and so in a sheltered corner facing soutwest.
I was surprised to see it bloom last summer, a light purple.
Again this season it has grown taller and had many more blooms on it.
So the secret is placement, out of wind and of course lots of snow cover (from clearing deck).
I wonder if the colder Zones of Alberta will be a factor in it's demise even when well protected?

I was wondering about the colder zones of Alberta too Sharon, and even the fact that it is much dryer.

Here in Nova Scotia I see them even in expose areas. My DM has two on her property that are well over 7 feet and they are exposed to some mean nor'easters in the winter without any protection along her driveway. Both were stems she brought back from BC a few years back. They are gorgeous in bloom.

I have one facing southeast against the house. It is about to bloom. This year is the first year the deers haven't chomped it. I left the remnants of a Dame's Rocket plant right in the front of it to discourage them. It is about six feet. I do not protect it for the winter in any way.

They do leaf out a bit later than other plants, just about the same time as the Buddleias, so don't give them up too early.

Reading over the postings, I realized my placement is in fact southeast, between deck and brick wall of house. One of my earlier attempts of overwintering a Rose of Sharon shrub,placement was in the southwest corner of the same deck. It did not survive the winds and snow build up. I gave it several months to grow in that spot but it did not approve or improve and dwindled away.
My next experiment is to place this years' seedlings in 2009 on the northeast corner approx 20ft from house between a mugho pine and hibiscus moscheutos which are also slow to emerg in spring. But most important, the dozen small seedlings may or may not survive the plunge bed this winter!
Sharon

I grow several cultivars of hibiscus coccineus, syriacus and moscheutos and they carry through in my supposed zone 3b gardens with no trouble. In my experience I noticed they only do well in drained soil with as little spring moisture as possible. They detest wet feet, and most cultivars act as herbacious perennials. They started flowering for me about a week ago and all are in bud that are not in bloom. They are fed with a manure tea until the beginning of August and flourish with this mixture. I will be starting the seeds that are produced this year and am trying them in other remote parts of the property to determine their hardiness.

I have several Rose of Sharon buds that are getting ready to bloom, they were white with a red throat last year, so don't know if they are going to be the same color or not, but here is the buds that are{{gwi:537718}}
Uploaded with ImageShack.us starting to open.

sorry, I did not realize I was in the Canadian forum, but that is one of the ones I have.

I live in Canada in a city in Ontario. I believe that I am in Zone 6. I have had Rose of Sharon at my home for a couple of decades. I have pink, purple and white with a red throat, but one day one of my seedlings turned out to have a white bloom with a white throat. My backyard has too much shade and root competition and the Rose of Sharons there have been slow to grow, but my pink one is mature. I also have three Rose of Sharons at the side of my house, located against my brick wall and close to my neighbor's property. It is there that they grow beautifully, with abundant blooms, beginning early. There is a huge difference between these Rose of Sharon and the ones in my backyard.

I have determined that the Rose of Sharons require at least several hours of sun or more and a sheltered spot is ideal.

I have been growing Rose of Sharon from seed and have found that the shrub will produce blooms in the third year of growth. But last year I decided to take two cuttings from my friend's double Rose of Sharon (hibiscus syriacus). It turned out to be an interesting experiment. Both cuttings "took" and I overwintered the cuttings in my house. Early spring they developed dust mites. When it was warm enough to put them outside in their pots, I did that. They were sprayed for the dust mites. I think the pesticide was too strong for the plant and the leaves curled up. But I proceeded to nuture them! This is what amazed me: the cuttings are quite small (maybe 10 inches high and one of them has buds on it! Now mind you the leaves still don't look that great, but I looking forward to seeing the bloom. My conclusion: much better to take cuttings. I am thinking that by next year the leaves should look "normal."

Have grown ROS for many years and never had problems in winter in the open or slightly sheltered and seedlings come up every year all over the place.

I just came across this post and thought I would relate my experience. My DH collected some ROS seeds when visiting his cousin in Nantucket. I winter sowed them, got 4 seedlings and planted them all in different locations last spring. I mulched them and they all survived the winter well, but this was a drought year for us, and all but one suffered. The healthier plant received supplemental watering, is near our, and shed has had only two blooms, white with a burgundy throat and it is a double. The others survived but are smaller and would have received no supplemental watering. So it seems they will flower in the second year if sheltered and watered well. I am hoping they will all perform well next year. I am in Ontario, Zone 5A.

I have some new cuttings and seedlings that have rooted but I feel they do not have enough time to acclimatize for the winter.
Would it be a good idea to plant many in a deep tray or pot in a cold garage which approaches the freezing point, to give them more of a chance to survive or plant them in a sheltered area outside to take the -20C -25C in Zone 5B

Andr: I finally did get mine to overwinter and now have about 6 of them. I started mine from seed and overwintered them in a pot that I sank into the ground. They survived the first year and then I planted them out. What you need to remember is that sometimes your ROS will come up late, mine cam up the end of June the first year but this year it came up by the beginning of June. It is very open and windy here so I mulch and cage my ROS to protect from rabbits. Last year we put pea gravel around the base to help prevent vole damage.