Great Article...I have a couple of the white with the red eye hardy plants..While I think the tropicals are Beautiful
I really like the hardy ones. I want to get some more other colors of the hardy ones.
I also have two Rose of Sharon's But, We call them Irish Roses in our family

Beautiful pictures...

Thanks alot for the info

Thanks, Shannon. I've never heard them called that. Is that something Irish or a family tradition? Love those "Irish Roses".

Not sure ..But,I never knew them by any other name then Irish Rose , Until Home Depot LOL
I have two both double bloomers

And now I have learned a new name for them.

This has been driving me crazy for about a month now.

I could remember a plant that we used to call 'Irish Rose', but couldn't remember what it was. It looked like a Rose of Sharon but not quite. The leaves were different. And the bloom was smaller. So I thought and searched and thought, and finally realized it wasn't a hibiscus at all, it really was an old old rose.

So then that started the search over again and I found what I was looking for. Actually it's called several things depending on where you look, but it's also called Irish Rose. We don't have a picture of it in ATP database, but we do have its name.
So I went to Wiki and other sources since it's an historic plant.

Two of them: Rosa pimpinellifolia which I found here: http://www.helpmefind.com/rose...

And

Rosa spinosissima which I found here and notice it's called Irish Rose in the title on this page:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/...

And again the same one, an Irish wildflower but called here Burnet Rose:
http://www.wildflowersofirelan...

So yes, I know the Irish Rose, though I haven't seen one in a long time and it does resemble the Rose of Sharon, but it is of the rose family. Not a lot of difference in the blooms, I think, but the Irish Rose we had was white. Usually my ROS blooms in whites, pinks and lavenders.

Anyway, it was one of those things that sort of faded from my memory, but we had both, the Rose of Sharon and the Irish Rose. I just forgot for awhile. Thanks for reminding me, Shannon. I love when I catch hold of a memory and track it down again.

It doesn't matter what we call them, they are both very pretty and very similar and have quite a history.

Good info. Thanks for adding it, Sharon. Those regional and common names can be so confusing at times. One picture really can be worth a thousand words.

Sometimes, except for the leaves and maybe the bloom size, it's hard to tell the difference between those older plants, like the hibiscus and the wild rose.

You're welcome, Tee. I'm glad I figured it out too. I can file it away now and quit thinking about it.

I wonder which Shannon has?

We'd have to see pictures to know.

The two I mentioned above (both Rosa) are the only two that had 'Irish' associated with the common name and I've been searching for weeks. I never could find it associated with any of the hibiscus. But I do remember Irish Rose and now I finally remember that bloom. It's similar to ROS, but not the same. I'd like to see them somewhere together again. Seems to me that the Irish Rose doesn't get as big nor as 'treelike' as the ROS; I didn't search for those characteristics and I don't remember.

Yes, we would.

I don't know as I've seen it associated with any of the Hibiscuses either. Rosa-sinensis means 'rose of China' or 'China rose', of course.

In one of those links it mentioned that they don't know the parentage of either of the two 'roses' listed above. But they can trace it to 1755 in Europe with specific links to Scotland. Scot's Rose or Scotch Rose, they use both names as well as others.

I really have to be careful or I'll get into the history of plants like this and never pull away from it.
At least I've solved for myself the mystery between the Irish Rose and the ROS hibiscus.