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."

MALVACEAE (Mallow family) Part 2The Abutilons In a previous posting I spoke about the Hawaiian members that belong to the popular genus Hibiscus. There are several genera of the Family Malvaceae in Hawaii, including two endemic genera. The genera include Abutilon, Gossypium, Hibiscadelphus, Hibiscus, Kokia, Sida, Thespesia, and Waltheria. Please note: In this and following postings I will refer to all the Hawaiian Islands at times as "Hawaii," while the Big Island as Hawai'i. Notice the glottal stop, or 'okina, between the double-"i's" In this posting I will address, again briefly, another member of the Family Malvaceae (Mallow family)Âthe Abutilons. MaÂo, or Hoary abutilon (Abutilon incanum) is our only native abutilon species that is also found out side of the Hawaiian Islands. They are naturally found on all the islands except HawaiÂi (the Big Island). This is the smallest member of the Hawaiian abutilons and can found at lower elevations in dry areas such as Kaena Point and Barber's Point on O'ahu. Only pink-flowered forms are known from Hawaii. With no known Hawaiian name, the Hidden-petal abutilon (Abutilon eremitopetalum) is an unusual abutilon in that the small apple-green petals are nearly completely "hidden" within the fuzzy calyx (sepals). Only the red staminal column protrudes noticeably. They are extremely rare in the wild, but fortunately rather easy to cultivate. These hybridize easily with the next listed species, A. menziesii. the Hidden-petal abutilon is endemic to LânaÂi and a federally endangered species. KoÂoloa Âula (Abutilon menziesii) is closely related to the previously mentioned species. If grown too close together, they will readily hybridize. Best to make cuttings from these plants. Though the word Âula means "red" in Hawaiian, there are in fact many color variations of koÂoloa Âula. While maroon is perhaps the most common color, it can also be found in pink, salmon, yellow (blonde), maroon or pink with white, and a deep burgundy color. The long-lasting flowers make an impressive lei and it is a very special person that receives a koÂoloa Âula lei. A federally endangered species, koÂoloa Âula can be found on LânaÂi, east Maui, and HawaiÂi. They are possibly from OÂahu as well as there is a very limited wild population on the Ewa Plains. KoÂoloa Âula is becoming very popular in Hawaiian gardens perhaps because it is very easy to grow as a xeric plant and is easier to obtain in recent years. They propagate easily from seed or cuttings. The fourth species is Abutilon sandwicense. It has no known Hawaiian name. These have the largest flowers and leaves of the Hawaiian abutilons. The large yellow, sometimes maroon, flowers usually hang downwards. These federally endangered plants are only found in a few locations in the Waianae Mts. on OÂahu. But again they are easy to cultivate and make an attractive and unique addition to the garden. All the Hawaiian abutilons are easy to grow. They thrive in an open sunny area with a gentle breeze. They require very little water. In fact too much water can even reduce flower production. Abutilons also appreciate some fertilizer now and then, but be careful not to over do it because this can produce large floppy leaves and attract leave-chewing insects. They can be attacked by Chinese rose beetles, which create holes in the leaves. While this does not kill the plant outright, it can make them very unsightly. Planting them near or under a street lights can lessen the invasion. Systemic pesticides, such as Merit, can also be effective in controlling pests. Once established the abutilons will not need much care. Enjoy them and remember the koÂoloa Âula lei! To see photos of these plants visit http://ravenel.si.edu/botany/pacificislandbiodiversity/hawaiianflora/result2.cfm and http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/abutilon.htm

I think there's lots of confusion about that "hardy hibiscus" moniker that going around in the plant trade nowdays. It seems that rose of sharons , which are related to tropical hibiscus and in the same "mallow" family were called Athea for many years, but recently are called Hibiscus , so there's much more confusing the "hardy" Rose of Sharons, with the tropical hibiscuses. with some growers confusing the names even more by calling the rose of sharons , hardy hibiscus now. I guess , unless you can pin the growers down to say, what they're actually selling, that problem will remain. Sometimes the whole question of hardiness is even more confused , when sub-tropical growers talk about "hardy" plants, when they by no means mean "cold hardy". Some plants will tollerate windy conditions , hot locations , and some drought and for the sub-tropics , those are hardy traits that don't fall into the same category as "cold hardiness".

Hello Toni, Sorry I missed your reply. I'm not always able to remember where I've been, lol. I do know I'm in Missouri now though. It's been a while since I actually read about hollyhocks, most of my knowledge regards how it does in central California, where we moved from three years ago. In Sacramento, CA, it acts more like a biennial or short lived perennial. Since we've been here in MO, I haven't noticed whether individual plants were sticking around, or if they were the freely growing seedlings that were keeping things going. Not sure, but a very large portion of our hollyhock population did die out this year just shortly after finishing it's flowering cycle. It looks like some sort of rust disease got in to the root-crown, or perhaps it's some sort of bore. Haven't looked all that closely really, just made passing observations. About the only thing I've done with mine was to hack out any and all white flowering ones before their pollen could be transferred. I like the dark pinkish red ones. Perhaps I should pay closer attention to which plants are sticking around from year to year, lol. I guess I just never noticed... At least I haven't had to deal with squirrels eating mine, our tree rats stay in the woods mostly. Lmbo, yes... Gloria won the bet! Take care all, Dan