In temperate gardens from USDA zones 5 to 9, Rose-of-Sharon is a beloved and time honored addition; of all the summer blooming shrubs I have covered recently, this one is probably my favorite. Here is an (sorry bad link now) excellent introduction to these wonderful plants, excerpted from "The Year in Trees: Superb Woody Plants for Four-Season Gardens" by Kim Tripp and J. C. Raulston.
As mentioned in that article, the tetraploid introduction "Diana" from the U.S. National Arboretum and recipient of the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society Gold Medal Award in 1991, is a particularly fine variety with glistening white flowers which stay open in the evening. Perfect for that moon garden you've been planning!
You may be more familiar with the somewhat more traditional Rose-of-Sharon shrubs, generally in many shades of pink, but in any case Rose-of-Sharon is both beautiful in bloom and very versatile in the garden.
It grows happily in full sun to part shade, doesn't fuss over soil, withstands heat and cold and tolerates drought and wind; and even transplants well. Few pests or diseases seem to bother it although Japanese beetles munch it a bit in my garden. Self sown seedlings may be a minor pain, but they are easy to pull and fun to share with other gardeners. If this shrub has a fault, it is that it leafs out quite late in the spring, so keep that in mind when you decide where to plant it.
For some ideas on how to use this shrub in the landscape, remember that Rose-of-Sharon can be limbed up or pruned to grow as a small tree, as in this small, English style garden in Canada featured in Side Yard Savvy.
Since it blooms on the new wood each summer, the gardener can control its size and form very easily by cutting it back in late winter or early spring.
Rose-of-Sharon is easily showy enough to include in the mixed border as shown in this North Carolina garden which features "Blue Bird", a lovely shrub but not quite truely blue in my garden, either.
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