I'm interested in planting native Hibiscus moscheutos (aka swamp rose mallow). But my family already has a fairly large Hibiscus syriacus (rose of sha...
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Hibiscus cross-breeding? #827753
Asked April 29, 2023, 9:33 PM EDT
I'm interested in planting native Hibiscus moscheutos (aka swamp rose mallow). But my family already has a fairly large Hibiscus syriacus (rose of sharon). Rose of sharon is considered invasive, but my wife very much wants to keep it (it's a little too big for me to 'accidentally' hit with the mower). So at this point I'm stuck with the rose of sharon.
Is there any risk associated with planting Hibiscus moscheutos near (within, say, 100 feet) Hibiscus syriacus? I worry about the possibility of hybridization and contributing further to the invasive problem. I understand that hybridization between invasive and native plants can become an issue but I haven't been able to find any information about this pair of plants specifically and don't understand the risks well enough. Just want to make sure I'm being a responsible gardener!
Thanks
Howard CountyMaryland
Expert Response
Some cultivars of Rose-of-Sharon are purportedly sterile (or nearly so, not producing fertile seed), so might not be very invasive. Dead-heading seed heads before they ripen can also help, though we acknowledge this isn't very practical if a plant has matured to a large size.
We don't know how likely it is that different species of Hibiscus will hybridize; we haven't encountered a problem where this has happened in the past. Even if they did hybridize, the seeds produced from that new generation might not be fertile themselves, so spread would not continue in that scenario. We can't say for sure, but we think your use of the native Rosemallow in the garden is probably a non-issue.