I was just talking to a budding bonsai artist on the phone today, and she mentioned exactly the same thing. "I pick up a plant, rotate it this way & that, inspecting it carefully from all sides, then put it down because I don't know what to do, even though I know something needs to be done." What I told her is that knowing what to do doesn't come easy to many bonsai artists. Most of us acquire a sense of what the tree wants to be only after observing others transform trees in workshops, demos, and magazines, and after discussing our own trees' potential with other artists, especially those more experienced - or being present when these evaluations are made regarding the trees of others. It's likely you'll get some back-budding on the old trunk. If you do, you'll end up with a 2fer1. I agree with the mile of straight/boring hwy analogy, but if you bring the tree back to good vitality, a low chop will produce the back-budding you need to start building a tree on the existing roots, or you could opt to layer off the bottom section of the trunk again - depending on what the roots look like at repot time. For me, bonsai is the ultimate horticultural challenge. There is no limit to how far you can go in your search for proficiency and perfection of the artistry, and part of its reward is the bond you necessarily form with plants. Keep playing with and exploring ways to manipulate plants in ways that improve their ability to reach their potential - both in terms of health and appearance. I think you'll find, if you haven't already, that the ability to manipulate plant material adds an extra layer of opportunity to extract an added measure of satisfaction from the whole growing experience - even if it's not bonsai related. Al

I agree, you can prune it pretty hard. Then give it a light feeding to encourage new growth. When it starts to put out new growth, pinch about 2-4" off the tips of each new branch. This will encourage the new growth to branch again lower and make it even more bushy and full. You must be in the southern part of the state. Here in NorCal we just let the winter prune them for us, lol. But in a warm sheltered spot sometimes they can get pretty big.

Fred, I'm not an expert on hibiscus, but you appear to have the outdoor variety and not tropical. In your climate (and mine) the type of hibiscus most of this post is talking about has to be taken in the house for the winter, or it will die (it's tropical). I have several of the outdoor variety, too (not tropical) that you appear to have. It doesn't make much difference (that I've found) if you cut them to the ground in the fall or spring. The canes will all die to the ground anyway, and new growth emerges in the spring. It is one of the last plants to start putting up green, so don't think it's dead. Hope I've helped.

Large flowers may be obtained by pruning back hard to 2-3 buds in early spring. Otherwise, prune to shape.