Rose of Sharon Tree

[Allen Neighbors]

I have a question-- maybe I should say several questions -- about the Rose of Sharon Tree.
I've searched on my computer for it, and found it in several places, but they all say that it's either a shrub or a very small tree.
This last winter, a friend of mine told me about a big, flowering tree, that had been cut down between his house and mine. He said it was always full of flowers in the summer, but it was down now, and being cut up. We went to look it over.
They told us we could have all of it we wanted.... it was headed for the landfill.
It was a huge, for all I can find out about the Rose of Sharon Tree. The trunk was about 16" to 18" in diameter, and the main piece of it was about 10 feet long. We both picked up some of it. I got a couple of pretty large chunks to blank out. And now I wish I had picked up more.
I needed some more biscuit cutters to take to a craft show, so I cut up a good sized blank into 3"x3"x4" blocks to make them. Wow!! It dried really fast (the blank I used was about 16" dia, and 7" thick), it seems to be fairly soft, but it cuts like butter, and I didn't have any tear-out, even though I hollowed them with a 1/2" bull-nose scraper. It had spalted, laying in the floor of my shop.. just the gray, no black lines... almost like Holly. It must be pretty stable, as I had anchor-sealed just the end grain, and it wasn't cracked anywhere. Had to sand it to 400, very lightly, at that, to make all the scratches disappear.
Can anyone tell me anything else about it? Has anyone turned any of it before? If it's turned while green, how much does it warp?
I'll appreciate any information you might have.

[Nathan Hawkes]

I believe its related to Hibiscus, but I'm not positive. Never turned it. In Virginia, rose of sharon is another name for the multiflora rose, an invasive species from asia that takes over pastures.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

That's right Nathan, Rose of Sharon is another name for Hibiscus, there are many cultivars.

I have turned the wood, but it was only a small piece, less than 2 inches thick, just was white wood nothing appealing about it that I remember.

Allen I have never seen or heard about a Hibiscus/Rose of Sharon that was the size you got there, but that doesn't mean much of course, though I do wonder if that tree was really what they said it was, I mean I have heard so many times that people give names to plants/trees etc that are not even close, but than again there are many different plants and trees/shrubs, so it is possible.

However the small piece I turned was nothing to write home about .

[Al Wasser]

Is this another "things get bigger in Texas" post?? Rose of Sharon is a colorful shrub in these parts. I've not seen one much bigger than about 8' tall. One might get a pen or a small box from the wood but that would be about it. You might get a "Trees of Texas" type book at the library and see if you can find a scientific name. Common names names get changed from areas to area.

[Allen Neighbors]

Al, my friend, that passed by that tree all the time when it was flowering, looked at a picture of it online, in Bing Images, and said, "That's it!". I guess it just had the right spot to grow in. The owner said it was a Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus Syriacus)... but everything I can find on the Rose of Sharon says it's a small tree or a shrub... never anything of this size... But then, you are right-- everything does get bigger in Texas.
Leo, this wood looks a lot like some Holly that I turned once... it had gray - well, you can see it in the pic.

[Allen Neighbors]

I believe its related to Hibiscus, but I'm not positive. Never turned it. In Virginia, rose of sharon is another name for the multiflora rose, an invasive species from asia that takes over pastures.

Yeah, I just looked that one up, too. It's not that one. As far as I remember, there weren't any thorns or leathery berries, that I saw when we were getting the wood.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

There are both tree and shrub varieties - we have both in our yard. The shrub is about 6' tall now (needs to be cut way back - but need to wait for the fall so I don't lose all the new growth, which is where the blooms come from). Our tree is about 10' tall, and while it doesn't seem to be growing taller year to year, it is filling out nicely.