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Rose of Sharon Seeds Pesky

Posted: September 2nd, 2019, 4:18 pm
by Wally
Love the plant but hate the seeds. Anyone ever hear of a plant hormone that would render the seeds of Rose of Sharon sterile? Very pesky to control those buggers!

Re: Rose of Sharon Seeds Pesky

Posted: September 2nd, 2019, 4:24 pm
by Green
I think the seeds are in the blossoms; if so, the best course of action is to rake them up as much as possible when they drop.

Re: Rose of Sharon Seeds Pesky

Posted: September 2nd, 2019, 10:27 pm
by TimmyG
Rake up Rose of Sharon seeds? Ha, good luck with that! The seed pods dry on the plant and burst open while still on the plant, releasing the seeds.

If you like Rose of Sharon, your only option is to replace it with a sterile cultivar, likely a triploid or tetraploid, unless you think deadheading a giant shrub sounds like fun. I've removed over a dozen large plants already this year and plan to remove a few more before the year is up. I have plans to plant only one specimen of sterile 'Diana'. Dealing with Rose of Sharon seedlings is a nightmare task. They have to go (planted by the previous owner, and likely propagated via seedlings).

Re: Rose of Sharon Seeds Pesky

Posted: September 3rd, 2019, 11:04 am
by Wally
I was cleaning my garden stuff and saw tomato blossom spray. No seeds, sterile tomatoes, which got me thinking, if there was a hormone spray that worked on the hibiscus family, the seeds would be no problem.

Re: Rose of Sharon Seeds Pesky

Posted: September 3rd, 2019, 1:31 pm
by TimmyG
From what little I understand of tomato blossom set spray, it's not that the hormone renders the fruit sterile, it's that the hormone triggers fruit to develop and mature regardless of pollination. As long as something (wind or bugs) pollinates the flowers, you'll still get fully developed seeds even with tomato blossom set spray.

Re: Rose of Sharon Seeds Pesky

Posted: September 4th, 2019, 7:03 am
by Wally
What I need is Hibiscus birth control. Lol

Re: Rose of Sharon Seeds Pesky

Posted: September 5th, 2019, 8:16 pm
by Green
I suppose you could try Gallery pre-emergent herbicide on the grass under the bushes. Not sure if it would work on those seeds since they're pretty large, aren't they?

Re: Rose of Sharon Seeds Pesky

Posted: November 10th, 2019, 9:22 pm
by Wally
I hacked those suckers early this year before they dropped seeds.

Re: Rose of Sharon Seeds Pesky

Posted: November 10th, 2019, 11:57 pm
by TimmyG
I finally got around to cutting down the few I mentioned above within the last week. Alas, they dropped beaucoup seeds well before then that I will be dealing with for years to come. But, yay, only one remains. I'll keep that one until I decide what else to plant in its stead, but I really haven't had too many seedlings sprout from that one. My sterile 'Diana' is still in a pot and just got heeled in for the winter (along with dozens of other trees & shrubs).

Re: Rose of Sharon Seeds Pesky

Posted: August 9th, 2020, 5:46 pm
by falcon
I know this is an old thread, but they do sell seedless cultivars.

Re: Rose of Sharon Seeds Pesky

Posted: April 10th, 2021, 10:08 am
by Wally
There are some now that are sterile. Definitely the way to go.