It appears to be surviving just fine in spite of a major loss of bark some years ago. So, just leave it be. No coatings to "seal" or whatever else might be suggested.

Agreed on it needing to be transitioned slowly into sunlight. But the thing that struck me was that it was a big plant for such a little pot. If you have a place in the ground that you plan to put it, you might be able to limp it along for a week while you're getting it used to the sun, but if you plan to keep it in a pot on your patio, you'll need to get at minimum a 5-gallon paint bucket (drill holes in the bottom), but ideally a container at least twice that size. It's probably really root-bound at this point, so potting it up to a bigger pot should be your first priority if you want to save it. Buy some Miracle Grow (or other brand) Potting MIX (not "potting soil" or "garden soil" -- read the bag because neither of those will work well in a pot) and get it into a bigger pot (gently break up the roots a little so they don't keep growing in a little circle), then put the plant into dappled sun or part-shade. Or go slowly with full sun if you're home to move it around -- an hour or two of sun, then back into shade, an hour or two of sun, etc. Increase the sun time a little each day until it doesn't wilt in the sun anymore. I think you can definitely save it, though! I doesn't look too far gone from the photo you posted. Did it have any tags on it that say what variety it it? If you tell us that, we can give you even more details about what to expect from it. Good luck! Kathy

Hibiscus Seed Capsules Seed saving is a lot of fun and it's easy to do! This is how I do it....and these are general and universal instructions. Mother Nature is pretty easy to figure out if we keep with the idea that SHE needs to keep it simple too. Take a good look at a flower. When the flower fades leave it where it is, do not remove it. Eventually at the base of the flower there will be some swelling. This is where the seeds are forming. Do keep the petals where they are and let them fall naturally...I don't touch it or bother it, I just leave it be. The base of the flower will swell even more and soon you'll notice that the flower stem and the swollen base are turning a papery-brown. This is a very good indication that the seeds are almost fully ripe....in effect the plant has achieved it's goal of reproduction for that flower...it has produced viable seeds and no longer needs to expend energy to keep it alive, so it doesn't sends it's sugars and water up to the stem anymore. That's why it's turning papery-brown. It's no longer being supplied with nutrients and so it's dying back. The drying action will continue and as the swollen pod continues to dry you will see it start to open....some pods will open in a starry design, plants like poppies create a ridge of tiny little circles near the top of the pod....they make themselves into something like a little "salt-shaker" (sorta...but you could imagine it.) All flower pods will open in some manner when the seeds are ripe....it's so they can disperse their seeds. When you see that the pods and stems are both brownish in color, AND you notice that the pods are starting to open you can then collect the pods. I place the pods on an open plate or in open bowls in a safe place where they won't be disturbed and let them continue to dry naturally for another week or two. Then I remove the seeds from them. To assure that the seeds are thoroughly dry I let them dry on an open plate for a few more days...I even will stir them every now and then to make sure the bottom layers will get a chance to dry too. Storing the dried seeds is easy. I use paper envelopes. I make my own with my printer, but you could use coin envelopes or even mailing envelopes will do fine too. Label them so you know what's inside. Store them where they'll be away from heat or direct sunlight. I use cardboard file boxes to keep my seeds in and those do just fine. Another good place to keep them is in your dining room drawers. Those are dark places and your dining room is sure to be safe from extreme fluctuations in temperature. Good luck with your seed saving! Trudi

I'm still learning and trying new things but there are definitely things I wouldn't can again and did in the first place because I thought I would use them. I'm going to stick to plain tomatoes, stewed tomatoes (which I love and can't keep on the shelf), green beans, deer meat, Annie's salsa, pickled beets, pickled onions, various jams, kraut, relish, and a few pickles. I like my corn frozen and prefer refrigerator pickles. I like apples and peaches dehydrated, plus canned sauce. I dehydrated various odd things last year and they are still in my freezer. I also forget they were there. My few attempts at canned tomato sauce didn't turn out that great for all the work involved. I may have over-cooked it before processing but I have no desire to try it again when I can blender a can of toms for the sauce. I've already harvested my garlic and it is curing now. Plan to keep some for fresh and roast the rest with olive oil and freeze in cubes. It is very handy that way! I may try to dehydrate some kale chips, I have lots of kale and can't seem to use it up quickly enough. I still want to try some new things, though!