Rose-of-Sharon
Hibiscus syriacus
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in escaped or persistent after cultivation, often spreading by rhizomes. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- 8–12 feet
- Spread
- 6–10 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- June to September
- Fruiting season
- August to October
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Recorded in 3 Florida counties.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
41CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Hibiscus
- Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
- Alabama argillaceaCotton Moth, Cotton Leafworm Moth, Cotton-Worm Moth
- Amyna strictaEight-Spot Moth
- Anomis erosaYellow Scallop Moth, Mallow Caterpillar
- Anomis flavaTropical Anomis Moth
- Anomis illitaOkra Leafworm Moth
- Anomis impastaGrey-Eyed Scalloped Moth
- Anticarsia gemmatalisVelvetbean Caterpillar Moth
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Burnsius albezensWhite Checkered-Skipper, Western Checkered Skipper
Show all 41
- Burnsius communisCommon Checkered-Skipper
- Burnsius oileusTropical Checkered-Skipper
- Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Euclea delphiniiSpiny Oak-Slug Moth
- Eudryas unioPearly Wood-Nymph
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
- Halysidota cinctipesFlorida Tussock Moth
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Idia lubricalisGlossy Black Idia
- Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
- Meskea dyspterariaWindow-Winged Moth
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
- Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Strymon istapaMallow Scrub-Hairstreak, Dotted Hairstreak; Modest Hairstreak, [Columella Hairstreak : former mis-applied name]
- Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
- Synanthedon geliformisPecan Bark Borer Moth
- Tarache apricaExposed Bird-Dropping Moth
- Tarache delectaDelightful Bird-Dropping Moth
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
- Urodus parvulaBumelia Webworm
- Chionodes hibiscella
- Epiblema numerosana
- Telamoptilia hibiscivora
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
1Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Hibiscus
- Ptilothrix bombiformis
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Hibiscus
- Coccothraustes vespertinusEvening Grosbeak
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Malvaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 5a–9b
- Flower color
- Yellow, pink, purple or white
- Fruit begins
- August
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow, pink, purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 5a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “8–12 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “6–10 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Althaea; Rose Mallow; Rose of Sharon
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications