On Mon, 30 Jun 2003 04:38:57 GMT, "NokNokMan"
wrote:

Hi all, this is my first post to rec.gardens and I hope I can find some
advice. I have a rose of sharon that's about 7 years old and very healthy.
I prune it in late winter in the hope that it will grow more "tree-like".
But every summer the 'trunk' grows shoots. A lot of shoots. Can I safely
prune them now and how can I prevent them from growing back? Wrap the
trunk? Thanks in advance.


You can keep pruning it. It is the nature of some rose of sharon to
get bushy. Cutting off the top will trigger bottom shoots, stronger
trunks, and you'll have more blooms (although I hear that's not what
you want). Rose of Sharon blooms on this year stem growth and can
easily take regular pruning to whatever shape you want. They like
water and sun.