Hello: I am looking for seeds of both varieties of these hibiscus.I have hardy hibiscus mix and disco belle red hibiscus.Thanks!

Its probably sawfly larvae worms. I had them eating my hibiscus leaves a couple months ago, and they are small-ish green worms. I used a root fed systemic insecticide, because I didnt want to kill the beneficial insects and praying mantis' etc.... It got rid of them completely. But now we have zillions of Japanese beetles eating the other hibiscus, the Rose of Sharon....As well as the Sand cherries, the dahlia flowers, etc. I keep treating one plant, then they eat another!

It will not rebloom in a common sense, but auxilary flower buds are already there on a lower portion of the stems and they will bloom in succession for about a month after the first bloom. You may expect good 4 to 5 weeks of bloom. Those side/low buds are less exposed to sun now (covered by upper leaves) and need more time for development. I remember one year when mine was almost completely defoliated by JB in July it was blooming like crazy on a bare stems, opening 15-18 flowers a day, while normally I had 6-8 flowers opened at once. On a side note, I moved all 4 of mine from full sun to part-, but close to the full sun positions for the reason to a) prolong blooming time and b)not to take valuable full sun space for plant that have so many liabilities. Don't take me wrong, I like all of mine, Lord Baltimor, Kopper King, Disco Belle and especially Fireball, but...it's a one month wonder plant and full sun is in a scarse supply here. Nevertheless, 4 to 5 hours of preferably midday or afternoon sun is working as a charm, but 4 hours of the morning sun seems like not good enough.

Well…it’s done, but it was a huge ordeal. In my yard, there is about 8 inches to a foot of topsoil, and solid dense clay under that, that is also full of rocks. It’s why I have difficulty planting anything large. I had told him that in advance, but it was not something he had dealt with before (this was friend doing the work, like a trade; I will help him install a non-standard door later). The auger was useless after a foot. I have a post hole digger too, that was no better. The clay had to be chipped out bit by bit, and larger rocks pried out til the depth got to the 2 feet he wanted. So instead of 2 deep narrow holes, we had 2 cone-shaped holes, maybe 16" in diameter. We moved the big hibiscus, and some lilies, and I had put stakes marking other plants to protect them. But that plan went by the wayside quickly, as digging those holes seemed to require more and more room. I was supposed to be just an observer, due to my knee surgery. But I and another friend ended up helping too, which flattened the area even more. I should have removed all the plants within a 3 foot radius of each hole! We got the posts level, mixed and poured in the concrete. Then the position of the posts had to be endlessly tweaked, which took 3 of us. I wanted to “hide” the square posts behind 2 of the outermost uprights. The plan was to let the posts set while we had lunch (it was then 3:30, and we had started at 12:30). But we decided to place the gate immediately, while we could still move the posts slightly. Which turned out to be a good thing. Again, more tweaking of angles and leveling. Had to shim one end with bricks, as (you might be able to see in the above photo) the pointed ends at the bottom are different lengths. Got it clamped on with 2 thick U bolts at the bottom and muffler clamps at the top. I will paint those soon. Tomorrow I will have to clear out stray gravel and clay pieces from around it, which will be challenging considering I can’t kneel on my right knee. I will come up with a new place for the hibiscus, which I put into a large pot temporarily. I have a non-performing Endless Summer hydrangea at the sunnier end of the bed, which never grows more than a 16” tall (and doesn’t bloom). I think I’ll put the hibiscus there, where it won’t block the view of the gate. The thing I am worried about now is how compacted the soil became. I don’t know what to do about that, if anything is possible. The plants that had not yet emerged might not be able to get through. The ones that were emerging in that 3 foot radius are largely smashed. Some tall salvias, liatris. Lots of crushed irises. I think I will fork those out and move them. I don’t know if it would be advisable to try to stick pitchfork in and loosen the soil in general. And/or just add some bagged topsoil on top of everything, and call it a day. Buy some new plants. ;) I know I will like the results in the end, once things start growing around it.