Suggestion, trim them back by about 25% in the Spring and they should grow out by the end of the summer. Try to work with the shape you 'see' in each ROS. I do this every Spring to maintain a dwarf tree effect with each plant. Good luck.

Paulallen,
Thanks for the suggestion!
I will do it.

You're most welcome. Please keep me posted. I take great pleasure in growing ROS and helping others do the same. It's a phenomenal plant. Suggestion, mulch carefully around the base, not touching the trunk. As the mulch becomes compost, it feeds the roots and you only need add more mulch. Ruth Stout's teachings work.

Maybe I am lazy but I just keep jamming more seedlings into my wall of ROS and it stays quite thick since they seed so much.

to each it's own, but thats the first time I have heard that ROS red heart was ugly.I love mine.

I have a german sheperd that just turned 1 in June, last winter her favorite pass time was "eating" my 2 year old rose of Sharon. I really thought she had killed it. I had to prune it way back, over 50% to get past the chewed places. Anyway it has been absolutely gorgeous this year. It has grown really thick and taller than it was before. I would have never pruned it back that much on my own, but instead of killing it, she actually helped it. So I think you could prune it way back this winter and it would grow much thicker by the end of next summer.