Question
I have  rose of sharon in Canton, Ohio. It is about seven years old and has been beautiful for all these years. The problem is that this spring it did not come into leaf. It is now June 10th.  The branches and stems are healthy looking- the bark is green when cut and the branches and twigs are very pliable. It is in a full sun  area and gets regular organic fertilizer.  We use Espoma brand called Plant-tone.  We had some late freezes which might have affected it, though the younger plants around it are all doing fine.  My question is , is it a gonner or is there some hope left that it will come back?  Thank You, Brenda

Answer
Brenda,
I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but I think that the Rose of Sharon is dead. The late frosts probably killed the buds as they were starting to come out of dormancy. Was this the only Rose of Sharon in the yard? If there were others, were they effected? Different plants  come out of dormancy at different times, this may be the reason why this plant was the only one effected.
You could wait until next year to see if the plant recovers, but I feel that is a slim chance.
Ed Gulliksen