A Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Flowering Shrubs variety, Hibiscus Paraplu Pink Ink® Rose of Sharon is a showy, deciduous, flowering shrub offering summer interest. This variety was chosen from Minier Nurseries in France for the size of its blooms and its unusual color. Blooming abundantly and continuously through summer and into fall, the plant sets jumbo-sized, white flowers that have an intense starry eye and well-defined stripes in shades of red and pink. Borne on slender branches, the tropical-looking flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
A Hibiscus syriacus, commonly called rose of Sharon or shrub althea, Paraplu Pink Ink is a multi-stemmed, large-scale herbaceous shrub with a moderate growth rate and an elegant, compact, spreading habit of attractive bright green leaves. Hibiscus can be trained as a small tree or espalier. It is an excellent specimen or foundation plant but is very effective massed or grouped as a hedge, screen, or a back of the bed or border plant. Paraplu Pink Ink also does well as a container plant.
Tough and remarkably easy to grow, rose of Sharon grows best in sunny to partly shady locations with fertile, organically rich, moderately moist, well-draining soil with a slightly acidic to neutral pH, but it tolerates poor soils and some drought and is pH adaptable. It loves hot summers and blooms best in 6 to 8 hours of full sun. Good air circulation is important for disease prevention and for best overall performance. Rose of Sharon is fairly pest and disease free; deer resistant; and heat, humidity (with good air circulation), and air pollution tolerant. The plant can over winter in temperatures as cold as -20°F with heavy mulch covering the root ball to insulate it.
Hibiscus Paraplu Pink Ink has a naturally attractive form and only needs pruning to tidy up its shape and/or to maintain a desired size. Pruning back stems also encourages more blooms and can increase air circulation within the plant to help prevent disease, but pruning should be done sparingly, after flowering has finished. Removing up to 1/3 of the overall shrub creates a fuller bush with larger blooms. Keep in mind that these shrubs bloom directly on older wood or on shoots that come off old wood.
