A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Plants and Flowers Forum I need Hibiscus help.......

Hi everyone. :) We moved into this house last summer and there were beautiful Hibiscus growing. I have never grown them. I didn't do anything to them last fall, pruning wise or otherwise. They went dormant, or whatever it is called over the winter. A month or so ago the previous owner said to cut the stalks down to about 3 inches tall. So I did. Was that the right thing to do? There is no sign of life in them yet. I am in NW Missouri...zone 5. If I didn't kill them, when and how do they start growing?

Thanks for any help!

It is still pretty early to predict what they will do.. I didnt cut mine back at all , dont know that much about them either , but they sure survived for me.

Have some patience.. YOur zone is still pretty cold for them.

I always Cut mine back in the early spring , I cover with leaves during the winter here,, tho I may cut it back a bit before I cover with the leaves,, Don't know the temps your having there,, But IF you cut it back it should come back fuller than before, it will take a little time to get going but it should grow back happily! I'd give it a little fertilizer when you see new growth , :wink:

They like really warm weather, so they should still come up, the soil has to be pretty warm.

Perennial hibiscus needs warm soil to start growing, so they are usually one of the last plants to come up in spring. I have several, and some are just starting to come up while others aren't, and I'm in zone 7.

Thank you all so very much! I'll keep an eye on them. :)

I'm in zone 7 and mine are just now thinking about popping up. I cut mine back in spring too just before the new growth starts coming up, did it a little early this year

I've never cut mine back....maybe that's why I don't get many blooms? The leaves are just gorgeous already though (zone 9)

Anyone know how to thin a Hibiscus? Mine is getting a little out of control.

there has to be some hibiscus growers out there....???? how do we thin? and are there any organic methods to encourage blooms?

I have a few also. I never cut them back and work fertilizer into the dirt when I see growth, Blooms are alot smaller then they were when I bought them . bummer!
they are still huge tho.