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Pruning Hibiscus
| Pruning
Hibiscus |
| Pruning
hibiscus is not normally needed for the hardy hibiscus. Actually,
these plants are herbaceous perennials, meaning their tops die
down to the ground each winter, but new shoots will come roaring
back into lush growth when soils warm the following spring.
Because the tops die down each year, pruning is generally limited
to controlling plant size when it gets too large for its area. |
Pruning
the dead material back in the fall is recommended. Prune the
dead material back to about 8 to 12 inches. Then, apply a
thick layer of mulch over the plant roots, 8 to 12 inches,
to keep plant roots from freezing. In the spring, remove the
mulch and prune the remaining dead plant material to ground
level.
The tropical hibiscus can be pruned in the spring. The time
to prune depends on where you live and the weather you expect.
The main precaution is not to prune so that the tender new
growth is emerging during a time when frost is likely. This
guideline dictates that most pruning be done between late
February and August, depending on local conditions. If partial
or selective pruning is practiced, there is no real drawback
to pruning at any time within that period. Complete cutting
back of the plant is best done in early spring only.
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Take
a good look at the plant to be pruned. Because the new growth
will start below any cut you make, you want to plan accordingly.
Cutting a few inches off the top is usually not a good idea,
as the new growth sprouting off the end of the existing branch
will not look quite right. Instead, plan to cut most branches
back by about 1/3 or even more, always leaving at least 2-3
leaf nodes (bumps on the stems where leaves once grew) on
each branch. The new growth that emerges will be strong and
will blend in with the rest of the plant.
Pruning hibiscus is not a difficult task. One way to go about
pruning hibiscus is to cut back the longest branches first,
and leave several shorter or side branches for another time.
This will assure that you have blooms on this plant both early
in summer and later when the new growth comes in. Repeat this
process in the following year.
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