Best of times... worst of times for my Rose of Sharon. Looks nice on one side. The other side is dying off. It'll have to come down in a year or two, if not sooner.
That is quite the difference. Each year mine are blooming better - they just like to bloom towards the top where I can't get a decent picture of them - LOL. I haven't even give them extra water this year, and even thru the drought they are doing well. Guess the roots finally got down below the "raised" part of the bed since this place was built on top of a swampy area.