Hardy Hibiscus Pruning/Shaping
- andy10917
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Hardy Hibiscus Pruning/Shaping
I have Hardy Hibiscus that are liking the soil/location they are in -- a little too much.
They have grown to over 7' tall, which is a little excessive for their location (OK, a lot). "Normal" is supposedly 4' - 6' tall.
Can they be pruned back and shaped earlier in the season, and if so, when do you stop shaping them to avoid losing blooms?
They have grown to over 7' tall, which is a little excessive for their location (OK, a lot). "Normal" is supposedly 4' - 6' tall.
Can they be pruned back and shaped earlier in the season, and if so, when do you stop shaping them to avoid losing blooms?
- HoosierLawnGnome
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Re: Hardy Hibiscus Pruning/Shaping
I'm interested too. Used to have some before the deck and just replanted some last week. Do you cage yours? I always lopped mine down to the ground every spring.
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- andy10917
- Posts: 29739
- Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 10:48 pm
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Re: Hardy Hibiscus Pruning/Shaping
No, we stake them, but at 7' even staking doesn't work -- we had to tie them back to the porch latticework too.
We lop ours down to the ground in November/December as old wood is always dead in the Spring. That ain't getting the job done though.
We lop ours down to the ground in November/December as old wood is always dead in the Spring. That ain't getting the job done though.
- HoosierLawnGnome
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Re: Hardy Hibiscus Pruning/Shaping
Hm. I don't want to cage mine because I think it looks tacky. Wonder if I could use the privacy fence and tie them up.
Mine get up to 4 or 5 feet but flop. That was in shade.
What is the soil like where yours are planted?
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Mine get up to 4 or 5 feet but flop. That was in shade.
What is the soil like where yours are planted?
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- andy10917
- Posts: 29739
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Re: Hardy Hibiscus Pruning/Shaping
It's right in front of the front porch. That means it's TEC 12, pH 6.5, high-OM (it's where I dump yesterdays coffee grounds). Soil is probably 60% mineral soil, 25% peat moss and 15% compost. No mulch. Probably the sunniest spot on the front yard at 4+ hrs a day. The spot is behind a couple of hosta (no surprise there!) and next to a Hydrangea. It gets nothing special for fertilizers, just Vitamin M.
- HoosierLawnGnome
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Re: Hardy Hibiscus Pruning/Shaping
Mine are in the retaining wall planting which has some soil I brought in years ago to backfill, will get 6+ hours of sun, and are right over a natural spring so I hope they do well. It's probably more acidic soil than yours but the others I had grew well in the crappy backfill soil they were in before.
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Re: Hardy Hibiscus Pruning/Shaping
My hardy hibiscus die back to the ground each winter. In spring when they reach 12", I cut them back by half. This encourages stockier plant and more blooms. I don't prune after Memorial Day. I've never had to stake them.
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- andy10917
- Posts: 29739
- Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 10:48 pm
- Location: NY (Lower Hudson Valley)
- Grass Type: Emblem KBG (Front); Blueberry KBG Monostand (Back)
- Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
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Re: Hardy Hibiscus Pruning/Shaping
What height do they wind up at, at blooming time?
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Re: Hardy Hibiscus Pruning/Shaping
My tallest tops out around 5'-6'. I'm growing Kopper King, party favor, and moy grande.
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Re: Hardy Hibiscus Pruning/Shaping
Sorry I didn't see this. I have a ton of them. If you prune them down early (2-3 weeks after they come up) you'll keep vertical growth down but the plant will be wider and it will bloom 2-3 weeks later than it would have.
- andy10917
- Posts: 29739
- Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 10:48 pm
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- Grass Type: Emblem KBG (Front); Blueberry KBG Monostand (Back)
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Re: Hardy Hibiscus Pruning/Shaping
Mine started blooming a week ago, and it has never had as many blooms as this year. It's averaging 12-15 blooms a day, although each lasts only a day or two. I have no idea what is different this year...
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Re: Hardy Hibiscus Pruning/Shaping
I'm having a good year to, last year not so good.andy10917 wrote:Mine started blooming a week ago, and it has never had as many blooms as this year. It's averaging 12-15 blooms a day, although each lasts only a day or two. I have no idea what is different this year...
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