Planted a rose of Sharon this spring but not thriving. It blooms but no green growth and leaves are pale green to yellow. I fertilized with no effect. Planting zone 7b.

Welcome to NGA, Penny ( @Pastockbridge ) !

What kind of soil is your Rose of Sharon growing in? Overwatering or poor drainage can sometimes cause leaves to yellow like that.

The soil is a mix of top soil and mulch (recommended by Home Depot). We just built the flower bed. We did not dig very deep when adding the new soil. Should I dig it up, go deeper with the new soil? Do you think it will survive transplanting? Thanks for your advice.

You're welcome, Penny -- I hope we can help you out here!

When you say "The soil is a mix of top soil and mulch," what kind of mulch are you talking about? some things like mulch can rob nitrogen from the soil, which could also be contributing to the yellowing.

I don't think you should dig it up just yet; but yes, I do think it would survive transplanting

I'm going to give a "shout-out" to someone that grows a lot of hibiscus... @Horntoad

Jay, do you have some advice to offer?

Weedwhacker said:I'm going to give a "shout-out" to someone that grows a lot of hibiscus... @Horntoad

Jay, do you have some advice to offer?

I think your first answer was probably as good as any. Over watering or under watering can have a similar effect. In the photo the soil looks very wet, but it may have been watered just before the photo was taken. Most Hibiscus need good drainage and over watering is not uncommon.

Weedwhacker said:You're welcome, Penny -- I hope we can help you out here!

When you say "The soil is a mix of top soil and mulch," what kind of mulch are you talking about? some things like mulch can rob nitrogen from the soil, which could also be contributing to the yellowing.

I don't think you should dig it up just yet; but yes, I do think it would survive transplanting

Another good point. I don't think of mulch as being something you mix in the soil but something you put on top of the soil after planting to help hold moister in. For mixing you would probably want to use compost.

The "Mulch" came bagged from Home Depot. It looked more like peat or compost. Apparently a lot of gardeners use it with top soil here. I will give it some more time. It just looks so sad😞 Thanks again!

@Pastockbridge Hi Penny! you have been given alot of good advice. Just to add a couple of things. When you planted did you dig the hole twice as deep and twice as wide as the pot?
The surrounding soil needs aeration and to be loosened for the roots to spread. Most Althea's roots are bound in pots, did you pry them loose, and rinse off some of the soil around the root ball before planting?

Oh goodness! No I did not rinse the soil off the roots, etc. Should I do this now? It's been in the ground about 2 months.

@Pastockbridge Was it root bound? Did you gently pry the roots out so instead of being in a circle they go out side ways? When you pulled it out of the home depot pot did everything soil and roots stay together? Like you could have slid it back in the pot and no one would have known it was ever removed from the pot? If it went in root bound I will give you some detailed instructions what to do since it has been 2 months. Do not worry it can be fixed, with a little babying it will be ok.

Rose of sharon are tough....
This year it's been very dry here... All the leaves turned brown and fell off mine... After a half inch of rain, they leafed back out.

One year... I had some limbs I clipped off a bush that I wanted to propagate... Sitting in a bucket of water until the leaves all fell off...
I planted those dead sticks... They leafed out and started blooming that month!

I wouldn't worry overmuch about a sick rose of Sharon.... They're very tough... Not much bothers them.

I agree with the first response... Over watering or not watering enough. I would not dig this bush...

Also... If you did mix mulch into the soil... It probably absorbed the nitrogen away from the roots.
Not to worry though.. Any new bed is likely to be difficult... After that mulch has had time to break down... Everything should be fine.