My two rose of sharon trees struggle yearly to bloom. They were pruned into tree shape since I got them five years ago. I've kept the shape and tried pruning down to a couple buds in early spring to keep them small and perhaps get the buds to open by having less of them. But the tree grows four or more feet even after pruning. The flowers are doubles, which makes them very heavy when they don't open. Each year, a few more will open, but it's still mostly closed buds. This season, I skipped pruning and will see what happens. My hardy hibiscus, however, is ten years old and sits in the center of my front garden. Now at its full size, it's about 4 ft by 4 ft each summer by the time blooms form. Pretty much zero maintenance. Cut it to the ground after the first freeze, remove some of the faded blooms to keep it pretty during the bloom time, which usually lasts three to four weeks in late July through August. Yes, it takes time in the spring to get growing but by the end of May it's green enough to start looking good and fills in nicely with lovely foliage as a backdrop to annuals and other perennials. I highly recommend them for anyone with the space in full sun.
My two rose of sharon trees struggle yearly to bloom. They were pruned into tree shape since I got them five years ago. I've kept the shape and tried pruning down to a couple buds in early spring to keep them small and perhaps get the buds to open by having less of them. But the tree grows four or more feet even after pruning. The flowers are doubles, which makes them very heavy when they don't open. Each year, a few more will open, but it's still mostly closed buds. This season, I skipped pruning and will see what happens. My hardy hibiscus, however, is ten years old and sits in the center of my front garden. Now at its full size, it's about 4 ft by 4 ft each summer by the time blooms form. Pretty much zero maintenance. Cut it to the ground after the first freeze, remove some of the faded blooms to keep it pretty during the bloom time, which usually lasts three to four weeks in late July through August. Yes, it takes time in the spring to get growing but by the end of May it's green enough to start looking good and fills in nicely with lovely foliage as a backdrop to annuals and other perennials. I highly recommend them for anyone with the space in full sun.