Please keep in mind that I like to let my shrubs do what they want...these can be trimmed to grow from a single trunk, like a shrub, or like a topiary.  They make great hedges and grow best in full sun but can tolerate part sun.  The general consensus is that they grow 8-12' tall, but mine grow that much in one season (see below).  To say they have plentiful blooms is an understatement! If you are outside in the late summer during the blooming season, brace yourself for pushy hummingbirds whizzing past your ears!   Because they bloom in late August, they add color when most plants have stopped blooming.

"If a person cannot love a plant after he has pruned it, then he has either done a poor job or is devoid of emotion."
 ~Liberty Hyde Bailey

This is really an intimidation-free shrub.  Feel free to hack on it at will. Unlike some other perennials (like hydrangeas), they bloom on growth from the current year.  I usually cut mine back in the early winter.  Again, I have to admit, I did a terrible pruning job.  If I had it to do over again, I would have cut the branches flush with the trunk so they wouldn't be quite as full, especially so close to the house.  But I wanted to show how quickly they fill in!

The Rose of Sharon is very easily propagated, they make loads of seed pods.  If you have them in a place where you don't want seedlings, simply dead-head the spent blooms and you will keep your shrubs from spreading!

All of my plants came from the same "Mama" Rose of Sharon, but the babies that are potted up come in 3 different colors: solid white, white with pink center, and pink with dark pink centers.