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Tropical Hibiscus - pruning and repotting

5 years ago

When I started at my
company 5 years ago, this poor hibiscus was barely more than a twig in a pot.
It has come back quite well and has been blooming every year, but I think it
could be even better!

For one, it is in
serious need of repotting. My office is moving this summer so I will be taking
all of my plants home until I get settled and figure out the light situation at
the new place, so I am planning to do a bare root repotting as I have no idea
the condition of the roots. Is this a good idea?

Also, I would like
to prune back the one long branch to try and encourage it to be bushier. I cut
that branch back once before and it did start putting out a lot of lower growth
again, so I'm assuming that's the right thing to do. I was thinking of cutting
it back to here (at the red line):

(sorry for the dark photo, it's kind of gloomy out today)

Would you do anything differently?

Finally, would it be too much to do both the pruning and the repotting this Spring? I'm waiting for one last bloom and then plan to take it home.

Here is a bloom photo, just because it's so pretty:

Katharine

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Comments (4)

Raymond Dziezynski
5 years ago
Love the flower color. Go ahead and repot and prune like you planned, Everything should be okay.
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
5 years ago
Would you do anything differently?

Yes. I'd put it outside for the summer, after hardening off. When it's back inside I'd not have the blinds half down. They need lots of light.
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I'm under the impression the Tropical Hibiscus grow from a single trunk. You might consider taking softwood cuttings and start them for new plants. It would probably be a good idea to repot your old girl, at least go up one size. Here is a link that might be useful: Tropical Hibiscus care
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Hey there, I have a hibiscus standard on the back deck and it blew over quite a few times. Hopefully now that I've transplanted it into a ceramic/clay type pot it will give it a bit more stability. Still, the other night there was a severe thunderstorm watch, I quickly put my tree into the shed so that it wouldn't blow over in the event we got damaging winds (I somewhat baby my plant). I read the following hint to keep your plant from tipping over. It's meant more if you want to create the illusion that your hibiscus is growing in your flower bed so it wouldn't apply if you have a tree on the deck... Buy a slightly larger pot than the one your hibiscus is currently growing in. Don't transplant your hibiscus into this pot, but take this new pot and dig a hole in the ground, sinking the pot up to the rim. You then take your hibiscus and it's current pot and slide it inside this new pot. Depending on the fit of the "pot within a pot", you may have to fill any gap between the two pots with slats of wood or styrofoam (or what ever you feel will work), but it offers the illusion that the tree is directly growing in the ground while also preventing it from tipping over. This might look better yet if you were to plant annuals or small shrubs in front of the hibiscus. By the way, after transplanting is it normal for a few of the leaves to yellow and fall off? I am not too concerned as it seems to be getting new growth and blossoms. I thought I read somewhere that anytime a hibiscus goes through a change (positive or negative) it might be susceptible to losing a few leaves. Plus, my plant just got used to being on the same spot on the deck (same amount of sun daily) and then I had to put it in shade for a bit while they were re-shingling my roof. Glen
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I also posted this on the Hibiscus forum.. but you folks have been so helpful I thought I would try here too! I've had this hibiscus for 15-20 years and I really need help pruning it back - or maybe just the reassurance that I should prune it back hard. It has some sturdy trucks with new shoots, but the flowering branches are thin and arching out everywhere. The plant has lost it's structure and form. Can someone help me prune it in the right way so it doesn't grow back leggy? Can I prune it back to a main trunk if there's no new shoots or leaves on that main trunk? Here's pictures:
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
5 years ago
Hibiscus should be repotted every spring as they are waking up. I've found it's better to keep them over winter in a near completely dry state in a dimly lit, cool spot (that would be my basement away from the growing tables). If I were you, I think I'd set the middle of May as a target date for the repots.

How you fertilize hibiscus is important. They DO NOT like much (P) phosphorous, and DO like plenty of K (potassium). I use Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 and supplement that with ProTeKt 0-0-3 for the added K and opaline silicon it provides. Your soil looks VERY water-retentive, something that cannot be considered a positive.

Al
User
Original Author
5 years ago
Floral_UK, it's just starting to stay warm enough here to consider hardening it off for the summer. I've never put it outside before (a little hard to do at work). The blinds, unfortunately, have to be half down or I can't see my computer screen! That will change once it's living at home with me.

Al, you are absolutely correct, that soil is terrible! I feel lucky the poor thing has bounced back as well as it has. I will definitely repot with better draining soil asap and make sure to find some appropriate fertilizer for it too, nothing I currently own is suitable.

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