Let your light shine by Lady-bug
A woman by the name of Cindy wrote to TheGardenLady asking her to identify a shrub by giving the barest description. Do my readers remember the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words”? I requested that TheGardenLady’s webmaster write back to Cindy requesting a photo. The second TheGardenLady saw the photo, she was able to identify the shrub; whereas, as good as the description had been, it did not produce instant recognition.
Now not all plants are as easy to ID as Cindy’s photo. ThisGardenLady spends hours with friends trying to identify weeds. This is something we like to do as fun. And believe me, we are not always successful even when we have the plant in our hands. And we would never be able to identify 99% of the weeds with just a description.
So if you want a plant identified, send a good clear photo of the flower and another of the leaf and a good photo the entire plant would help as well as some information as to where you live. And if the plant is an indoor plant for your area, let TheGardenLady know that as well. The more information available the more readily someone can solve any problem. This holds true if you are solving a mystery or taking a problematic plant to your Master Gardener office.
The common name in America for Cindy’s mystery plant is the Rose of Sharon or it has Althea in its name. Its Latin name is Hibiscus syriacus. It is a shrub native to Asia and is the national and beloved flower of the South Koreans.
The Rose of Sharon is a shrub that transplants easily, is tolerant of a wide range of soil pH, and is salt and pollution tolerant. The flowers on this perennial shrub bloom at the hottest time in the summer till fall. The shrub grows well in sun and light shade. The flowers come in the white with the red eye that Cindy has, as well as blue, pink, red, lavender, purple and pure white with either the single petals like in Cindy’s photo or double, pom-pom like flowers. The shrub is deciduous, meaning that it loses its leaves in the winter. It has been grown as an ornamental for years, first mentioned in an article written in South Korea 1400 years ago.
The Rose of Sharon is one of the easiest shrubs to raise. It can easily be propagated by seed or by cuttings. (see here) It is easy to prune and can be pruned to look like a small tree. Though ThisGardenLady has never had any problems growing the Rose of Sharon in her yard- mine are babies of plants that are at least 100 years old, having come from my family farm- there can be some Rose of Sharon problems that you might encounter. Read this article.
Be wary that in about half the states in the United States, some of the Rose of Sharon varieties have become invasive. (see here)