Althea, Rose of Sharon or Hibiscus syriacus

Love these, especially the single bloom. Reminds me of my grandfather. One of his faves

Thanks. Yes that's what it looks like. So I can just cut it down to ground in winter and have this flowering shrub every summer?

I wouldn't cut down an althea;
it'll grow into a beautiful ornamental shrub or tree, depending on whether you let it remain shaggy or shape it like a crepe myrtle.

Maybe it died to the roots this past winter due to transplant shock or due to the severe winter, but it seems to have recovered!

They normally don't die back in Dallas and will eventually become a ~ 6 to 8 ft shrub. Not sure that they reliably re-sprout from the root collar, so would not prune the main stem(s) shorter than 2 or 3 ft unless you have to or are willing to experiment. Someone else may know otherwise, but we got no new shoots when we had to cut a couple healthy ones off at the ground a few years ago that were too big to transplant.

One other thought.... since it died to the ground last winter, any chance it may be one of the hardy hibiscus cultivars rather than Althea? Can't make much of the leaves from the photo, but these normally do die back and come in similar colors.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hardy Hibiscus

I have hardy hibiscus in the back. Flowers are much bigger and they come with several steams from undergroud, this one come back with single steam and then branching off that one instead

Yeah - what looked like multiple stems in the photo was the other thing that made me ask.

That is Pavonia or Rock Rose. Its in the hibiscus family.

What size is that flower? Are the leaves fuzzy?
My altheas have died back many times depending on their location in the yard
a couple that didn't die back at the old place had to be cut way back every year because they were planted in the wrong place and were huge but I put up with it because they are so pretty

here is close up of the flower. It's about the size of your palm, while the giant hardy hibiscus about the size of the hand.

Althea, enjoy!

Yeah, pavonia's flower I know don't grow that big.

Omar

I stand corrected that is an Althea. Wonderful plant.