Rooting Rose Of Sharon Cuttings: How To Grow A Rose Of Sharon Bush From Cuttings

(Image credit: krarte)

last updated 7 February 2023

Rose of Sharon is a beautiful hot weather flowering plant. In the wild, it grows from seed, but many hybrids grown today can’t produce seeds of their own. If you want another of your seedless bushes, or if you just don’t want to go through the ordeal of collecting seed, you’ll be happy to know that rooting rose of Sharon cuttings is extremely easy. Keep reading to learn more about how to grow a rose of Sharon bush from cuttings.

Taking Cuttings from Rose of Sharon

When to take rose of Sharon cuttings is not complicated, as taking cuttings from rose of Sharon bushes is easy and versatile. You can do it at almost any time of year and plant it in a few different ways.

In early to midsummer, take green rose of Sharon plant cuttings. This means you should cut the shoots from the bush that grew in spring.
In late fall or even winter, take hardwood cuttings that have been on the bush for at least one season.

Cut stems that are between 4 and 10 inches (10-25 cm.) long and remove all but the top few leaves.

Planting Rose of Sharon Cuttings

Rooting rose of Sharon cuttings can be done in a couple of ways as well. First of all, you can dip your cutting (the bottom end with the leaves removed) in a rooting hormone and stick it into a pot of soilless mix (Don’t use plain potting soil-- it’s not sterile and could open your cutting up to infection). Eventually, roots and new foliage should start to grow. Alternatively, you can place your rose of Sharon plant cuttings straight into the ground in the spot of your choice. You should really only do this in the summer. The plant may be in a little more danger, but you won’t have to transplant it later on. If you plant a few cuttings this way, you’re bound to have success.

The only child of a horticulturist and an English teacher, Liz Baessler was destined to become a gardening editor. She has been with Gardening Know how since 2015, and a Senior Editor since 2020. She holds a BA in English from Brandeis University and an MA in English from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. After years of gardening in containers and community garden plots, she finally has a backyard of her own, which she is systematically filling with vegetables and flowers.