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plant growing vertical and not horizontal

18 years ago

I have 3 hardy hibiscus plants, about 4 years old. This year, one of them is growing VERY well, however, it's stems are growing vertically, in a candelabra shape, opposed to upright. Does anyone know why? The rain broke one of the stalks off. I wondered if I did not prune the old, center stems far enough in the Spring.

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Comments (7)

bruggirl
18 years ago
Vertically is up and down. Horizontally is sideways. If you are talking candelabra-like, I think you have them confused.

If it's growing too fast, the stems may just be weak, and not able to support the weight of the top of the limbs, therefore, they're spreading out.
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dollladie
Original Author
18 years ago
I replied to you via online, but will do so here too. Thanks for getting back with me. Well, yes, it is horizontal, and the plant and buds are huge. Should I not feed it any more, or what? We've had lots of rain the past few days, so I've been watching it. This is my Lord Baltimore, which is in a small bed along with Lady Baltimore and another one I don't know the name of. Lady Baltimore and the other one are growing normally. However, there is also a rose bush in this bed (which gets fed a lot), as well as silver beacon ground cover. Could any of these be factors? Should I just leave it alone? I'll try and get photos of it tomorrow. Thanks, Stacey.
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dollladie
Original Author
18 years ago
PS - My hardy hibiscus all have HUGE stems (2"+ in diameter). I've only grown these for a couple of years; is this normal? When I cut them back in late winter, should I cut from the outside or the inside of the "clump"? I usually cut them back to about 2-3" high, but never had any problems with that. Thanks again.
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Oliver_Shagnasty
18 years ago
This is normal with what I have. The branches are spreading out so that the leaves can get as much sun as possible. If they all grew straight up the leaves would be crowded and the leaves on the inside would not get very much sun light.

Shagnasty
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geekgranny
18 years ago
Early this spring I had to stake a bunch of stems on my Hardies (several kinds) They were loaded with buds pretty early. They are all doing well and now able to support themselves, even in high winds 20-40 mph. They range from 4 ft to 8ft plus now and blooming profusely. I don't think a lot of the stalks would have made it without early staking. geekgranny
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dollladie
Original Author
18 years ago
Many of you were kind and encouraging with me this summer when I was woried about my Lord & Lady Baltimore bushes growing out like candelabra. Well, they turned out beautiful, and I've got photos!

Here is a link that might be useful: My Photobucket Album
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beachbarbie
18 years ago
All your plants look gorgeous!
Glad you managed to "tame" your hibiscus. I have to stake my Kopper King and Texas Stars or they'll shade out most anything else in my garden.
Barb
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