Rose Of Sharon - Hibiscus syriacus

This week's Plant Of The Week is Rose Of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus). Rose Of Sharon are deciduous flowering shrubs which have just started to bloom around the valley.

They are large upright shrubs with quite a distinct form - its general habit is taller than it is wide and it makes a lovely specimen plant in the garden. The shrub has deeply lobed mid-green leaves and large single, or double, flowers in a range of colours, often with a strongly contrasting coloured center. The single blooms are generally larger and showier than the double blooms. The flowers also attract butterflies to the garden.

Rose Of Sharon prefers a location in full sun and is relatively heat and drought tolerant. Another point in its favour is the fact that it is quite late blooming.

Viburnum plicatum 'Mariesii' - Japanese Snowball Bush

This week's Plant Of The Week is Viburnum plicatum 'Mariesii' or Japanese Snowball Bush.

This beautiful, deciduous shrub has widely spreading branches which naturally assume a series of horizontal tiers. This layered effect is especially prominent in the variety 'Mariesii', which is even more stunning when in full bloom, as our photograph shows. The flowers, which are similar to the blooms of a lace-cap hydrangea, are arranged in two parallel rows along the upper side of the branches. The dark green leaves are deeply veined and will turn red-purple in the fall.

This shrub would make an excellent choice as a specimen plant. It would also work well in a Japanese style garden due to its distinctive horizontal growth habit.

Young plants require minimal pruning and any vertical shoots that threaten to spoil the distinctive tiered shape of established plants should be cut back to their point of origin in summer after flowering. With careful pruning, carried out by an experienced horticulturalist, the shrub can be trained to a more symmetrical shape.

Paeonia suffruticosa - Tree Peony 'Radiant'

Tree peonies are flowering, woody shrubs that produce magnificent flowers and have been popular since the 7th century in China. The over-sized beautiful blossoms (often reaching 10 inches in diameter) in a variety of colours, are the signature characteristic of peonies.
Tree peonies, will lose their leaves in the fall leaving the woody stems to winter above ground. However, you will notice leaves and blooms on tree peonies earlier in the spring than is normal for bush peonies.

Tree peonies can eventually produce a shrub that is 3 to 5 feet tall, but with their slow-growing nature, likely will not achieve that size until they are decades old.
Some interesting facts:
• Peonies are long-lived (over 50 years).
• Peonies are hardy (to USDA zone 2).
• Peonies are drought tolerant.
• Peonies are low maintenance.
• Peonies are deer-resistant.