I need some help. I have a hardy hibiscus that I would like to prune, I think. It has long single limbs that I would like to cut back so it might be bushier. Is it OK to do that now? Or will that cut off the flower buds?
Here is a picture of the plant.
Thanks for your advise.
Susan
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Boy, I'd hate to have your litter bill.
LOL, no litter bill. DH picks them all up with the mower and puts them in the compost.
susan
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If you have a hardy hibiscus, you can cut it all the way back. It will send up all new growth.
OK, thanks bad!
I think I will just go part of the way, that's OK too isn't it?
I have some others that just don't grow, hope they will after I hit them with the messenger. LOL
Susan
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yes--I do mine down here...new growth will be from the roots. Mine always freeze back to ground level.
Susan, They die back to the ground level in winter. I cut mine back to 2 or 3 inches in the fall. The stumps help me find them in spring, they sometimes 'wake up' late.
You should see a bit of green on the stems at or just above the soil line.
It will get bushier on its own.
Also, keep an eye out for cut worms in early spring, they love the tender new shoots.
Andy P
This one didn't die back as you can see. It is already putting out sprouts from the stems all the way to the top.
It didn't die back last year either, and this is why (I guess) it didn't get bushy. I was hoping to make it branch out this time.
Susan
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I leave mine like that too Susan. Those are dead now. I leave them so I do not plant on top of them or dig them by accident. They are late to show in the spring and I get mighty happy with a shovel in my hands. LOL
Susan, Could this one be a Rose of Sharon. It's in the Hibiscus family but not usually called a Hardy Hibiscus.
Is it woody or sort of hollow like a Hydrangea?
If it's a Rose of Sharon the only pruning needed is for shape, they don't die back in winter.
Andy P
I was going to say the same thing about the Rose of Sharon.....just prune it. I trim mine oh about a inch or so.....I just shape mine up.....If it a Hardy Hibiscus, I too cut mine to the ground in the fall....
Good Luck!!
Yeah Andy. That picture didn't look anything like my hardy hibiscus would in the Spring (if I didn't cut it back) A rose of sharon hibiscus is a good guess.
If it is, it is pretty leggy for a rose of sharon. They usually shape themselves with little or no pruning. (I've never pruned my r of s other than to remove dead or injured areas) BUT, I can't imagine there would be any problem if you cut it back to help it fill in.
Uh oh! I didn't look that close at the pic. You probably don't want to cut a rose of sharon down to the ground. LOL
well, I compromised....LOL
I trimmed it a lot but it's now about 3 feet tall. Hope I didn't kill it. It was all budded out all the way to the top. :(
Susan
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I wouldn't think you killed it, but you have a smaller bush now....I just take like the tips of mine off.....and inch or two.....Mine is a double white that I rescued from K-Mart a good 5 years ago, and was real little....Now it is 6-7 feet tall.....never knew the name of it....now next year, just give it a trim.....
Have a great day....Off to work I go!! :-)
That is kind of the problem with common names. My hibiscus moscheutos and coccineus still look much like that but with larger dead looking sticks. LOL It will still be fine. Those usually grow like crazy and also leave behind lots of seed babies.
Ya know badseed, what ever I got, never re-seeds either....I wish I knew the name of it, because it's really nice! :-)
