Korean Job Discussion Forums

Stormy · Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Location: Here & there

Does anyone know what these are called? The flowers themselves look very like hibiscus flowers, but the rest of the plant is nothing like the hibiscus plant.

Just checking again....can anyone recommend a good 'field guide' to Korean flora and/or fauna?

Apple · Joined: 29 May 2007 Location: S. Korea

Looks like 'rose of sharon' to me. 'Hibiscus syriacus'

I was a horticultrue major Cool

thematrixiam · Joined: 31 Oct 2007

I am fairly certain that's a hibiscus.... which of the 200+ species of hibiscus, I am not sure of.

But it's hibiscus. at last I am 85% sure it is

kimchikowboy · Joined: 24 Jan 2003

If it is blooming now, experience tells me that is too early for a rose of sharon. Here is my guess:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollyhock
There are some of these blooming now near my home.

Stormy · Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Location: Here & there

KYC · Joined: 11 May 2006

hmm so are hibicus & hollyhocks related? Same species/family? They look so much like hibicus!

KiteOperations · Joined: 09 Jul 2005

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It's Rose of Sharon aka 무궁화(Mu-Gung-Hwa) in Korean, the national flower of Korea!
(If im wrong, id be shame as being an Korean)

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though it's not Korean origin plant i guess, anyway, its like national anthem. Japanese national flower/tree cherry blossome tree is also originated from Jeju island in Korea, so the origin doen't matter making it national icon or not i guess.)

blackjack · Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Location: anyang

korean name is 무궁화 according to my GF, (not sure if that is the flower or the plant)

kimchikowboy · Joined: 24 Jan 2003

Blackjack and KiteOperations are both giving the Korean name of rose of sharon/hibiscus. When they are very young, hibiscus will grow straight like this, but again, they usually flower in mid to late summer. Also, hibiscus generally have smaller leaves, and bush out when older. Hollyhock grow with one tall center stem with leaves up and down it. Also, they generally have pretty large leaves.
I grew up around plants and flowers, and have worked in landscaping. At my house we had millions (they come up like weeds) of hibiscus plants over the years. Though it is not as tall as I would expect a hollyhock to be at this time of year, I'm sticking with that because I think it is still too early for hibiscus flowers.

DrunkenMaster · Joined: 04 Feb 2008

You can bring a hor ti culture but you can't make her think

Stormy · Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Location: Here & there

schwa · Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap

Thats a hollyhock without a doubt. A handsome plant that grows beautifully here. Where I'm from (Vancouver Island) its hard to find a specimen not infected with rust.

Hollyhocks come in many different colors, but Rose of Sharon (a hibiscus) has a remarkably similar bloom to the one pictured. But they tend to grow more shrub-like & arent in blossom yet.

KiteOperations · Joined: 09 Jul 2005

무궁화
http://image.search.naver.com/search.naver?where=image&sm=tab_jum&query=%uBB34%uAD81%uD654

접시꽃(Jeob-Si-Kot in Korean, hollyhock)
http://image.search.naver.com/search.naver?where=image&sm=tab_jum&query=%uC811%uC2DC%uAF43

uhh.. maybe 접시꽃?

tob55 · Joined: 29 Apr 2007

Neither I nor my Korean wife are horticulturalists, BUT my wife was raised on a farm and very familiar with all varieties of Korean plants and flowers. She is 100% certain that it is in fact 접시꽃 or the Jeob-Si-Kot which is known as the Korean hollyhock.

The 무궁화 (Mu-Gung-Hwa) grows more like a tree and the flower pedals are divided in 5 distinct sections. Also the 무궁화 blooms many times as the flowers that have previously bloomed die off. This is different from the 접시꽃 that has non-distinct pedal patterns that vary a great deal, and have a relatively short bloom life. The 접시꽃 tends to bloom around the time 무궁화 begins to bloom, so this is why there is such confusion about the differences between the species of flowers.

Nevertheless, they are both very beautiful flowers. The 무궁화 is considered the national flower because of its distinctive appearance and heartiness, not to mention that it has an extended blooming lifespan due to the numerous buds that are created during its normal flowering season which begins any time from June 1 - July 1, and continues to bloom for between 4 - 5 months. On the other hand the 접시꽃 begins blooming around the same time and only last for between 2 - 3 weeks.

Hope this helps.

Zaria32 · Joined: 04 Dec 2007

It is not a Rose of Sharon, (these days more commonly called Althea in the US) but rather a hollyhock.

The former is a perennial, and grows as a treelike shrub..sometimes even becoming a small tree.

The latter is an annual, grows tall and very straight (easily subject to wind damage) like a foxglove. Easily reseeds itself...