I agree with Watergal..Unfortuntly, the damaged leaves will not return to their previous beauty. Yes, even sun-loving plants burn when placed in direct light right off the bat..(I've had cactus burn) Plants should be acclimated before setting in full sunlight. It'll take a while, but soon your tree will send out new leaves. I use Hibiscus fertilizer, but for the time being, if I were you, I'd use a food high in nitrogen..after leaves form I'd go w/usual brand. Toni

My house has two old tropical bushes in an 18" wide bed (between house and sidewalk). They've been chopped a bunch over their lives so while they aren't that big overall, their trunks (or whatever you call the woody stump out of which all the current stems emerge) are about 12" in diameter. They are in danger from an upcoming remodeling project as well as not really fitting their spot. Can plants this size be moved? How big a rootball should I expect? I'm willing to pull up the sidewalk (but not the house!) to get them out but I want an idea of what I'm getting into before I start. I'm in zone 10a--these plants are facing south and never suffer from weather but north facing plants in the neighborhood can get a little frostbit one or two nights in the winter. Is there any chance that plants this old/large could be potted for a while and then put in the ground or is that likely too rough on them and I should just put them directly in the ground? Thanks!

I must confess, that I know they need hardening off in the spring least they burn up , but it seems mine even after weeks of hardening off still want to burn even in Michigan, though most likely any of those weaker leaves that burn would be shed and then would be followed by more sun tollerant leaves. In fact some older foliage on some types of tropicals never will acclimate to full sun though the newer leaves do, but in hopes of the reverse not making them shed in fall going from bright light to much lower light, I just picked a sort of middle ground so the new leaves dont' demand so much light without going into shock on their return trip indoors. I find that even the growth on my bougainvilleas , which gets five or six hours of sun starting in late afternoon, goes into a fast decline within a week of comming back indoors, and nearly all leaves are shed in a little over a couple of weeks. As I recall, most of the hibiscuses in California were growing in nearly full sun to part sun, so I know the extra sun will help with flowering. Next summer I will bite the bullet and not worry about burnt leaves so much and hopefully that will make a difference.

Is the plant healthy other than the spots? I take it, since you live in Canada, that the plant is inside. Are the spots on all the leaves? Are some of the leaves also turning yellow? If they're turning yellow, it could just be that they are old leaves getting ready to fall off and there will be new ones to take their place. Are there bugs on the undersides of the leaves and the buds? If so, it could be aphids. Any possiblity you could post a picture? Barb