I grow both 'Blue Satin' and 'Bluebird' and you are correct in thinking they may be a violet blue, rather than a true blue. However, they really are on the blue side and I would not hesitate to choose 'Blue Satin'. I do have a photo of the flowers that is fairly accurate as far as colortone, so if you have a e-mail you list with gardenwebs,I will try to attach it. I really hate the catalogs with their enhanced photos and claims of blue flowers.

I have two Blue Satin in bloom now, and they
are blue blue blue! Great carefree shrub with
nice form. The blue really stands out in the
mixed shrub border.

My 'blue satin' is truely blue, too - it's in partial shade, so it's color is fairly accurate - I LOVE this plant!

link below ..

sorry.. i disagree.. that isnt BLUE to my eye ... though it might be the closest thing to blue you will get in a ROS ....

but if it makes you happy... all the power to you ... and your kin.. lol ..

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Seen in person here it looks more blue than in photos at above link.

The pics I pulled up on Blue Chiffon (the double blue ROS) all seem to come from garden catalogs. Not the most reliable source for true colors. I would shop around locally, but the list of good private nurseries that might carry something as exotic (to them anyway) as a blue ROS are slim to non-existant. I'll call around though just in case. Even if I have to mail order one everyones comments make me think that it's blue enough to try with my pink Crape Myrtles. OOH! Almost forgot. Is Blue Satin sterile? I had a ROS that wasn't and I won't do that to myself again.....Maryl

Spring Meadow claims this one is sterile.

Here is a link that might be useful: AZURRI SATIN® Hibiscus syriacus 'DVPazurri'

I have 6 blue Satin hybiscus shurbs that all are blooming in a true blue color. I am growing them on the east side of my house, so they get afternoon shade.

My friend has one of mine planted on the South side of her house, and hers still blooms true intense, blue colors, even though hers in a full sun exposure.

Seeing the different colors on the photos could be due the lighting when the pictures were taken, the quality of camera used to take the photo. Not certain, but maybe their color might be affected by different soil nutrients, acid levels, or maybe some that are not really true to the authentic patented Blue Satin hybicus cultivar.

I think some plants being marketed as 'Blue Satin' are not the real thing. Mine is not blue,blue, but the same blue lavendar of 'Bluebird'. If I passed a nursery and saw a bluer one, mine would go. Seeing it in bloom is the only way I would purchase it.

Spring Meadow's online descriptions of the newer ones they are promoting mention 'Blue Bird' (correctly 'Oiseau Bleu', "blue bird" being a translation into English and not the actual name of the cultivar) being mixed up in the trade. The same will of course become possible with Blue Satin ('Marina') TM at some point, although it is rather early in its history for other introductions to have been put on the market in its place.

Bailey nursery has their own blue one that their site says was selected from a block of blue seedlings. So apparently you can sometimes raise seed of a blue one and get a number of additional blue forms. Perhaps this is what happened with 'Oiseau Bleu', seedlings of it being sold as the original clone.

Or some other factor like cultural conditions is causing variation in flower tinting and plant behavior.

Well that's not encouraging. Who would you think is a reliable mail order firm that would truly have Blue Satin?

Again, I think it is much too early in the game for this one to have gotten mixed up. In fact, Spring Meadow calls it rare! Stock I have seen here so far has always had the saturated looking blue tinting, compared to 'Oiseau Bleu' (as seen in commerce over the years here; maybe the original French introduction was a bit different).

I have a question for those of you who are growing 'Blue Satin' and 'Blue Chiffon.' Do the flowers look bad on the plant as they age? I would like to try one of the blue hibiscus cultivars, but I'm afraid it would spend much of its time looking as if it were covered in old crumpled tissues. What has your experience been?

I am inclined to lean toward the violet- blue Blue Satin Rose of Sharon opinion as I have one in the sunny south corner. By all accounts, photos don't really differentiate between true blue and slight violet tone. The famous and late Lois Hole in her "Famous Tree & Shrub" handbook states that Hibiscus can turn to white with age. Like us!
That said, I feed and prune the one I have annually and it shows no sign of change after fifteen years.
Can anyone suggest a second good companion shrub or perennial for the Blue Satin? It's right beside the Black Knight Butterfly Bush,blooming at the same time. Thanks

,

I have a Blue Chiffon Rose of Sharon that I would love to share but I have no idea how to make "clippings" from it to share with anyone.

I bought Blue Satin based on the opinions of those above who insisted it is a true blue. It is not. It's lovely, but it's purple.

As for sterility, mine seeds very modestly. May

be 15 or 20 seedlings, compared to the hundreds and hundreds dropped by other kinds of ROS

Blue Chiffon is your best choice. It is going to give you a true blue color without any violet. In my opinion the best of the bunch in terms of flower power, plant habit and overall display. The flowers are larger and more flower buds per stem. Blue Satin was taken off the market about four years ago and replaced with Azurri Blue Satin because it is seedless. Azurri Blue has hints of violet and purple in it especially as it fades. If you want seedless go Azurri Blue Satin. If you want true blue flowers and more flowers go with Blue Chiffon. Both of these varieties shed their flowers, unlike older double flowered varieties.