my 5 year old rose of sharon is having trouble i think. it has been a flourishing beauty every year until now. it is almost to a height of 8'. i guess i would have to say there are 5 or 6 major "trunks" to the tree. about three of those leafed out really well, as they normally do. the other three appear to be completely dormant. not a leaf to be found. there are what appears to be buds, but they don't appear normal. when i scratch at the bark there are hints of green underneath but not much. i'm concerned because by this time of the year it is always completely leafed out. i didn't change my pruning habits or anything. and when i do prune or "cut back", i always have done immediately after all flowering is done, and i take about 6-8" off the whole plant. my neighboor claims i should cut it back to half its size. someone help! this is the prize of my garden and i don't know what to do. should i cut just the sections out that aren't leafing or what...help please...