Rose of Sharon companion plants is an excellent addition to any garden if they are a perfect match. Common hibiscus is known for its large, beautiful flowers, so you must pair it with a plant that will complement it well.
You can pair your plants like a pro and get more benefits with some background information. Here are several options you can try, with detailed info on how to grow them.
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Best Rose of Sharon Companion Plants
1. Bluebeard
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Bluebeard paired with the rose of Sharon are two ideal partners because they bloom in the summer with their bright colors filling your garden. This plant blooms in summer when the sun is beautifully shining. It adds much-needed color to the landscape all through the summer season.
Bluebeard is a perennial shrub with dark, glossy foliage and an abundance of tiny blue flowers. It is native to East Asia and a great companion to many perennials. On another note, remember that it can be grown as a border plant, mass planting, or landscape-attracting pollinators, bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Grow this plant under full sunlight in USDA hardiness zones five through nine. In addition, when you are growing it, make sure that you would provide rich, well-draining soil that allows water to pass through.
Bluebeard requires frequent watering but not soggy soils as they cause root rot. When autumn months approach, you must give it a light trim this is because when it gets dormant for that new growth in spring. On the other hand, when the plant dies, remove all the old flowers to eliminate any possible seed spread.
2. Lilac
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Lilacs and rose of Sharon are best grown together since they share the exact growing requirements – direct sunlight, moist and well-drained soils, and alkaline soils. This combination is interesting as they are used as a hedge in most landscapes.
Lilac is a highly fragrant flowering shrub with hundreds of cultivars. This plant is tough growing as many as more than a hundred years outliving homes they have been planted around. On another note, it also has small stems with about ten canes.
The flowers bloom in the spring; they are single or double and have various colors, including cream, white, rose, magenta, pinkish-purple, lavender, and purple. They have a delightful fragrance that can be overpowering to anyone asthmatic.
Lilac thrives in fertile, well-drained soil with a pH range of neutral to alkaline soil near 7.0. If you have poor soil, enrich it with compost manure that releases nutrients slowly. By the same token, make sure that you would locate it in an area where it will receive direct sunlight that is available for at least six hours daily.
Note that you must apply a layer of compost to help retain moisture and control weeds, and make sure that you would water it frequently, especially in the summer season. After flowering, spread lime and well-rotten manure at the base of the plant and trim it.
3. Forsythia
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Hibiscus syriacus grown together with forsythia is best for a shrub border to block views. These two plants share the same growing conditions.
Forsythia is a group of deciduous flower shrubs named after a Scottish botanist, William Forsyth. It is native to eastern Asia with various species and makes a vigorous border or backdrop for a yard.
These trees are the kind that will produce bright yellow flowers as some of the earliest blooms in spring. They are a cheerful color to the season that is still sleeping from winter. These flowers are a big attraction to birds, bees, and butterflies.
Forsythia grows in USDA hardiness zones three to eight. It prefers moist, well-drained soils but can adapt to other soils like sand, clay, and loam. It thrives in a pH range of 5.0 to 8.0.
Remember that you must be pruning these shrubs after flowering to avoid cutting off the following year’s buds. In addition, it is necessary to apply a fertilizer high in phosphorous at the beginning of the spring season.
4. Viburnum
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Viburnum and the rose of Sharon complement each other with their flowers. They have brightly colored flowers that are a statement.
They share growing conditions with full sunlight, well-draining soils, and fertile soil.
5. Hydrangea (Hydrangea spp.)
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Hydrangea and rose of Sharon are best partners showing off their vibrant booms. They also do well as hedges and privacy screens. Hydrangea is grown widely as a landscape shrub in hedges, borders, foundations, and mass planting. It is used in landscape themes like a pollinator, English, and cottage gardens.
Hydrangeas are deciduous shrubs in a variety of cultivars and species. It has a light brown bark with brown, green, gray, red, and burgundy stems. On another note, they also feature beautiful leaves that are dark green growing on the opposite sides of the stem.
These plants tolerate a wide range of soil pH 5.5 to 6.5 pH. They prefer moist, well-drained soils and full sunlight. However, it is very important to know that they would grow in naturalized areas, woodlands, and walkways.
Water frequently, especially the first two years after planting. In addition, just as mentioned, they need to have their soil moist, so that the roots would stay healthy, as a result, you must mulch these plants to keep the humidity and protect them from the winter cold. Moreover, you can also be using some straw, pine needles, and bark mulch in the fall.
6. Wintergreen boxwood
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The slow-growing wintergreen evergreen shrubs are the best companion for the hibiscus syriacus. They complement each other and look great together, sharing the same growing conditions. Boxwood is best used for landscape focal points along walls or fences, which is why it has looks that are stunning as a specimen or a clipped hedge around the home.
Wintergreen has dainty foliage perfect for smaller gardens and pots. The shrub has a naturally dense, rounded habit that requires pruning to maintain tidiness. It makes an excellent short hedge or compliments larger shrubs with bold foliage.
Wintergreen thrives in fertile, well-drained soils. The soil should always be kept moist at all times. On another note, remember that it is very important to add compost manure to poor soils to enrich them.
In addition, it is also influential to water them frequently in dry weather with at least an inch of water each week, as well as to apply a mulch to retain moisture and keep them growing consistently. Lastly, it is also key to prune them back in early spring to get the best display.
7. Helleri Holly
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Holly and rose of Sharon are perfect for each other as they grow on hedges or in the landscape. Together they share the same growing conditions making it easy to grow them together.
Heller Holly is native to Japan and East Asia, common in thickets, wet places, and woods in mountains and lowlands in Japan. It is an evergreen shrub reaching up to five inches tall. Moreover, note that it is dense and compact with a spreading mound and non-showy greenish-white flowers.
Blooming happens in spring when greenish-white flowers appear. The small black drupes in the fall with fruit modestly produced. This plant tolerates poor, clay, and sandy soils and thrives in partial sun and shade.
It is also tolerant of pollution, making it ideal for growing in the city. Moreover, if you wish to see this tree thrive, you must remember that it loves acidic soils and grows slowly but steadily.
Conclusion
Rose of Sharon companion plants provides you with many options to consider. Before you move on to the next step of choosing, consider this.
- Remember to keep the soil moist of the hydrangeas by mulching them.
- Our favorite rose Sharon neighbors are hydrangea, holly, and wintergreen boxwood, which can grow as hedges or privacy screens.
- Consider when each plant produces flowers to help you plan them to get blooms at different times of the year, from spring to fall.
Hardy hibiscus companions are numerous and do great in various soils, clay, loam, or sandy, fertile soils. Please share with us your favorite companion planting for the hibiscus syriacus.
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