How to Propagate Rose of Sharon to Get and Give New Plants
Tip
You can let your Rose of Sharon grow as a bush or trim it to form a small tree. Trim off the tops to encourage more branching if the new plants start getting leggy. Transplant your new plants into individual pots if you are sharing them with other gardeners.
Nothing beats the beauty of a Rose of Sharon when it's in bloom during the late summer and autumn. Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus syriacus, is a deciduous shrub also known as Althea or Chinese hibiscus. You can choose varieties with blooms that are single or double in shades of red, pink, white, purple, blue or lavender. Most varieties grow 8 to 12 feet tall and 6 to 10 feet wide, according to the National Gardening Association. You can easily start new plants from your Rose of Sharon by taking cuttings in late spring or early summer.
Fill your 1-gallon pots with the soil-less plant mix.
Clip off branches from your Rose of Sharon that are about pencil width, or a little smaller, and have several leaves or leaf buds. Cut the stems 4 to 6 inches long. Cut more stems than you want, since they won't all sprout into new shrubs.
- Nothing beats the beauty of a Rose of Sharon when it's in bloom during the late summer and autumn.
- Clip off branches from your Rose of Sharon that are about pencil width, or a little smaller, and have several leaves or leaf buds.
Remove the leaves from the bottom half of each cutting. Dip the end of the stem in rooting hormone. Push the bottom third to half of each stem into your gallon container. You can put up to four stems in a single pot.
Place a piece of clear plastic over the top of each pot, creating a tent shape. Place a saucer or tray under each pot and water it immediately. Leave any runoff in the tray so the soil can draw it up and remain moist to encourage the rooting process.
- Remove the leaves from the bottom half of each cutting.
- Push the bottom third to half of each stem into your gallon container.
Put your pots in a spot with shade or indirect light. Remove the plastic in seven days. Check the pots every few days to make the potting mixture remains moist. Add more water if needed, but do not allow the pots to stand in water.
Check the cuttings for roots in one to two months. Gently pull on each stem; if you feel resistance, that means roots have formed. You also should see new leaves form on the branch stems that have rooted.
- Put your pots in a spot with shade or indirect light.
- Gently pull on each stem; if you feel resistance, that means roots have formed.
Transplant the rooted cuttings into separate containers and allow them to grow larger before planting them in the garden.
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