Hibiscus syriacus 'Marina' BLUE SATIN
Common Name: rose of Sharon 
Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Malvaceae
Zone: 5 to 8
Height: 6.00 to 9.00 feet
Spread: 3.00 to 6.00 feet
Bloom Time: July to October
Bloom Description: Blue with purple throat
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Hedge
Flower: Showy
Attracts: Hummingbirds, Butterflies
Tolerate: Deer, Drought, Clay Soil, Black Walnut

Culture

Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Best flowering occurs in full sun. Prefers moist, organically rich soils, but tolerates poor soils and some drought. Very tolerant of summer heat and humidity. Generally tolerant of urban conditions. Prune to shape in spring. Pruning back to 2-3 buds in late winter may produce larger blooms. Easily propagated by stem cuttings. May be grown from seed, but seedlings may not have the exact same flower color as the parent. Species plants can self-seed aggressively in optimum growing conditions.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Hibiscus syriacus, commonly called rose of Sharon or shrub althea, is a vigorous, upright, vase-shaped, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub that typically grows 8-12’ tall. It may be trained as a small tree or espalier. Showy, hollyhock-like, 5-petaled flowers (to 3” diameter) appear over a long, early-summer to fall bloom period. Each flower has a prominent and showy center staminal column. Palmately-veined, coarsely-toothed, three-lobed, medium green leaves (to 4” long) are attractive during the growing season but produce no fall color.

Genus name is the old Greek and Latin name for mallow.

Specific epithet suggests the plant comes from Syria which appears to be false because it is native to eastern Asia.

'Marina', commonly sold under the trademark name of BLUE SATIN, was selected in 1996 from an unidentified group of seedlings of H. syriacus 'Oiseau Bleu' which were being grown in a controlled breeding program in Boskoop, The Netherlands. U. S. Plant Patent PP 12,680 was issued on June 4, 2002. Patent documents define the unique characteristics of this plant as being (1) upright plant habit, (2) free branching, (3) dense and bushy growth habit, (3) free flowering and (4) numerous violet blue flowers. 'Marina' typically grows 6-9’ tall. Five-petaled deep royal blue to violet-blue flowers (to 4" diameter) with dark reddish-purple throats bloom from the leaf axils over a long mid-summer to fall bloom period. Each flower has a showy, upright, creamy-white, center staminal column. Each flower lasts about one day, but plants flower continuously and heavily from mid-summer to fall. Glabrous, thick, rhomboid to ovate, three-lobed leaves (to 3" long) are dark green.

Problems

Some susceptibility to leaf spots, blights, rusts and canker. Japanese beetles, whiteflies and aphids are occasional insect visitors. Japanese beetles can severely damage foliage if left unchecked.

Uses

Excellent flowering shrub that may be massed, planted in groups or used as a specimen. Good for foundations and shrub borders. Also can be effective as a hedge or screen.

May be trained into a small tree form.