Squirrellypete, Anyone is more than welcome to email me. Often times I add them to my work email as I use it regularly. I thought I might add some pruning sequence photos posted below to help. Most hibiscus are very resilient and enjoy a good prune. Very few CVs like Sea Spray or Black Dragon require a more delicate touch. One item of note is that while they are in dormancy, be careful of the water. Even with well draining soil, root rot can take hold. Mine are inside under extreme dry conditions. I check the leaves twice a day. Once they start to show signs of possible wilting, I give them a small dose of water. I would say that I water about 1 cup of water per foot of height on average. With my potting medium and the low humidity, I water about once a week with most. For me there really is no real chart or table for it...I let the plant dictate and use my gut instinct. Some plants are watered more often than others. Over time you will be able to anticipate their needs. Hope this helps. Ed Below is 2 weeks after a prune. You can see nodes activated and starting to grow new stems.

My hardy hibiscus doesn't have many stalks, in fact, just one that is branching out for the first time this year. Not sure of the best method for growing it, but it's better than last year. I have LOTS of trouble with the little green worms on the underside too. I'm letting one of the pods go to seed to see if I can get more stalks in the future. The other hibiscus' shown above are gorgeous, sure wish I could plant those in my zone!

Today, I called the local nursery and spoke to the manager to try and get a discount on Limelight. Surprising me, he told me that he cuts his own and his client's Limelights down to 24"(!) every spring and they come back to about 4-5' high by end of season. I asked him why he cuts down that drastically, and he didn't really have a good answer, except that it wasn't to get rid of winterkill--it was more of an elective shaping pruning. Based on his experience, he recommended spacing Limelight at 3-4' apart, which, given other posts I've read here, would be way too close. I was originally planning to space at 6' apart, but he didn't think that would give me a fully connected screen, or would take forever getting there. Given that he cuts to 24" every year, I can see why he would think that limelights don't get to the quoted size of 6-8' tall and wide in our area. So I thought I'd check with those of you who have an actual Limelight hedge out there to see how far apart you spaced your plants. Is 6' too far? Is 4' too close? Is 5' better? Did your limelights really mature to 6-8 X 6-8, or do they fall short of that in some zones? How short do you prune your limelights in the spring? Thanks, gardenerzone4

Jessaka, I do selective pruning on my Texas Star Hibiscus by cutting off 2 or 3 limbs flush with the main stem of the plant. That opens up one particular area and keeps it from shading the adjacent butterfly weed. Before we put up the taller deer fencing, I never had to do selective pruning because the deer would reach over the shorter fence and relentlessly prune it for me. You can save seeds from the dried pods, but watch them carefully. Mine get some sort of little bug on them many years during late mid- to late-summer or early fall and that bug will destroy the seed before it is mature enough to harvest. I don't know what the bugs are, but think they must be unique to the mallow family because I often see them on swamp mallow and on hollyhocks too, although I don't see them every year. Brian may know what they are. Hi Brian, I just wanted to say it is great to see you posting! I hope you have time to post more regularly and have missed seeing you here on the forum. Dawn