A US National Arboretum introduction in 1988 by breeder Dr. Don Egolf. An eye-catching deciduous triploid shrub that produces little to no seed, which means an abundance of nearly continuous, exceptional flowers over a long bloom season. The heavily ruffled, clear pink blooms have a deep red eye. The densely branched habit with thick, deep green foliage is perfect for a hedge or screen, and is easily trained as a small tree. The ‘Aphrodite’ Rose of Sharon is a triploid cultivar, which emerged from a selection of seedlings, after successive crosses of different ploidy cultivars [(Hibiscus syriacus ‘Suminokura’ / diploid / x H. syriacus  William R. Smith’) x tetraploid seedlings H. syriacus ‘William R. Smith].