Is my hardy hibiscus dead, or still sleeping?

16 years ago

I planted three hibiscus 'Red Heart' in 2005. They came back like champs last summer, but I have no memory of when they broke dormancy.

Now this year (after a weird May with a lot of storms and not a ton of sun), all I see so far are three hibiscus skeletons. I also don't remember how they grow -- if they're like a shrub growing from the old wood, or if new growth appears from the ground/root system.

It was just last week that my chocolate eupatorium appeared, and I know that hibiscus are notorious for being late... but how late might that be? Could they still come back, or should I be looking for replacement plants?

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esox07 (4b) Wisconsin

9 years ago

Thanks lisanti. I simply posted to a current thread on hardy hibiscus and didn't even look at the group name. I guess I got my answer though....I did see conflicting information on my google searches but it seems that the consensus is just as you describe. I will cut them back to near ground level once the new shoots come up. Last year, that was the last week in May here. And so far, this is a very unseasonably warm spring, so maybe a little earlier this year if the pattern holds. But we need rain bad.

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Comments (14)

mxk3 z5b_MI
16 years ago
More than likely they are just sleeping.

In my zone, they don't normally make an appearance until about the third week in May, give or take, but this is the second year in a row they didn't show any signs of growth at all until June, I saw some teeny tiny shoots coming up a few days ago. Since you're two zones colder than me, yours will follow.

Once they get up and running, though, they grow fast, so don't fret, you'll still get gorgeous blooms.

And don't forget to pinch to get bushier growth and more flower :)
ladychroe
16 years ago
Ditto. Mine are the last to awaken, lazy bums. Lazy, that is, until they get going. Then they seem to grow an inch a day!
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I live in zone 5, Canada, and have several hardy hibiscus. Here we get killing frost in October, and sometimes September. The hardy hibiscus goes quite brown, and begins to die back for the winter. I let it do that for a few weeks, and then cut it off at about 6 inches above ground. It comes back in the spring when the temperature is warmer, although it is one of the latest ones to come back. I have 5 different varieties, and they all do the same. They have been planted in the ground though, so have developed good root systems to help them survive. Yours being in a pot may be different. If I were you, I would be tempted to "take a chance" and plant it immediately, and allow it time to further develop its roots. I would also be tempted to mulch it this year, although it is not normally necessary. I have many different types of tropicals though, and they have all been brought indoors and will spend the winter under lights. I honestly don't know how the hardy hibiscus would take this treatment though. "Hardy" usually means leave it in the garden ... in the ground.
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pitimpinai
16 years ago
Mine is the last to show up too. Don't worry. They are tough. I need to to check mine. lol. I don't think they have poked their head up yet.
party_music50
16 years ago
Expect new growth from the ground. Mine are always last up too -- they're probably only 6" - 8" high here.
webkat5
16 years ago
You have Hibiscus syriacus (if you have 'Red Heart')...technically hardy to zone 5...not sure they can take your extremes.

These are commonly known as Rose of Sharon.

Have you scratched the a bit of the surface of a stem to see if there is green beneath? If so, it might still be sleeping.
H. syriacus should come back on the stems, not the from the ground, like H. moscheutos.
deeje
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks, everyone, for your input! I feel a little better now. I'm glad to wait it out, if there's a point to waiting!

webkat5, special thanks to you for the tip that they come back on the stems rather than the ground -- that was the worst part of waiting, not knowing what I should be watching for!

BTW, these were given to me by a neighbor before he moved. He'd been growing Red Heart in his garden for several years, so while they're new to me they're not young plants. I hope they made it through all right!
mxk3 z5b_MI
16 years ago
Oops, sorry, I thought original poster was referring to Hibiscus moschetos, the perennial hibiscus.
athenainwi
16 years ago
If they are Rose of Sharon they do take a while. Mine is only in its second year and started to leaf out a few weeks ago. It looks pretty good now and is starting to grow. It grew the new leaves on the old woody stems. I'd expect to see growth pretty soon on it if it is still alive.
party_music50
16 years ago
yep, I went by the title of "hardy hibiscus". If it is Rose of Sharon, that will have new growth on old stems.
gardenfanatic2003
16 years ago
A couple years ago, I couldn't believe it. One of my hibiscus did not come to life until the end of July! All the others were leafed out, so I figured that one was dead. Nope! So don't give up on them!

Deanna
esox07 (4b) Wisconsin
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
can someone confirm if this is a "ROSE OF SHARON" hardy hibiscus? It was labeled as Red Luna when I bought it.

The fall before last, I pruned this one and my other one to the ground at the end of the season. They came back full force. This last fall, I didn't prune them back at all as I have read as stated above that they don't die all the way back to the ground and get new growth from the old wood. So, I am anxious to see how they come back this year. The photo above is of a plant that was pruned to the ground the previous fall. My other variety was called Pink Elephant, was treated the same and they came back and grew huge. Here is a photo of it growing last summer and then this spring. The plant on the left with the coke can is the Pink Luna, the one on the right is another "Rose of Sharon" or Red Luna. But it is not the same Red Luna as pictured above.

Can someone confirm that the plant in the first picture is indeed a "rose of sharon" and that I did the right thing in not cutting them back to the ground last fall?

thanks,
Bruce
lisanti07028
9 years ago
Both of those plants are Hardy Hibiscus, not Rose of Sharon, which is a shrub with the latin name of Hibiscus syriacus.. The hardy hibiscus are, as far as I know, all cultivars of Hibiscus moscheutos (I think that's spelled correctly), and they die back to the ground in the winter, which the shrub Rose of Sharon does not do. You didn't hurt them at all by not cutting them back. I usually leave some stalks up all winter, because, around here anyway, the hibiscuses are quite late coming up in the spring.
lisanti07028
9 years ago
I forgot - there is a Hibiscus forum here, so you could check there for more information.

Is my hardy hibiscus dead, or still sleeping?

esox07 (4b) Wisconsin

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Is my hardy hibiscus dead, or still sleeping?

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