Botanic Garden >> Gardening > >> Question and Answer >> Seeding and Propagation

Can You Grow a Tricolor Rose of Sharon from Seed? No.

Tricolor Rose of Sharon (three flower colors on one plant) is a grafted combination, not a stable seed strain. Seeds will produce single-color plants (usually reverting to one parent).

Why Grafting?

Three compatible cultivars grafted onto one rootstock.
Seed genetics segregate; no true tricolor seedlings.

To get tricolor, buy a grafted plant. Seed-grown plants are lovely but single-hued.

Seeding and Propagation: Collecting and Growing Rose of Sharon Seeds; Can You Change Wisteria Flower Color Like Hydrangeas? No.; Controlling Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) Seedlings in the Lawn; Unknown Bush Similar to Rose of Sharon – Genetic Variation; Pinching Rose of Sharon Seedlings for Bushiness; Rose of Sharon: Red Varieties and Pruning Time; Rose of Sharon Seedlings: Blooming Takes 3–4 Years; Rose of Sharon Not Leafing Out After Transplant? Patience and Care Tips; Transplanted Rose of Sharon Not Leafing Out: Patience and Diagnosis; Rose of Sharon Transplant Shock: Silvery Leaves After Moving Outdoors

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