Gynot, Since the hibiscus is tropical that you are planting, and you don't live in a tropical climate, why don't you just buy bigger pots for them (they don't have to be expensive, plastic will do), and dig a hole, and place the bottom of the pot in the ground where you say it is happy? You can place some composted manure in the hole if you want, that way when the roots grow out the bottom of the pot by the end of the summer, you can just cut them off with sissors and store the plant in the house or greenhouse for the winter. If you don't want to save it anyway, and you want to leave it outside over the winter, still use a pot. easier to discard of it after it dies anyway. Use a pot, you can control the soil better knowing it is receiving optimal growing conditions. You have to water it more, and use Foliage Pro diluted big time every time you water. That way you will be replenishing the nutrients to the plant every time you water, because you will be flusing alot out watering it so much. Bad soil, is alot of amending, alot of work, and your results are not immediate. That is why people use pots and raised beds in areas with bad soil. The plants love great soil.

I know it can seem as overwhelming that people are almost chanting, "No rubber mulch, no rubber mulch", but please try to understand that there are reasons for this. People who aren't 'in the know' think that aesthetically-speaking rubber mulch is the way to go, but mulch is supposed to do a number of things. For one, it helps trap moisture around the roots of plants and prevents evaporation. It also normalizes the soil temperature, which puts less stress on the plants. The mulch brings a sense of cohesion to the entire bed. And the mulch also feeds the soil, breaking down over time, which, again, helps with moisture control. Finally, mulch helps to suppress weeds. Rubber mulch does some of these things, but I do not believe it is as effective at temperature control as the rubber can get quite warm itself (could be wrong) and it absolutely doesn't feed the soil. It will have to be replaced just like the organic mulches. Whereas the organic mulches pretty much just need a new layer each spring, the rubber mulch needs to be raked back, disposed of and then completely replaced. So really you are just replacing one inconvenience for another and unlike the organic mulches, the rubber mulch doesn't go on to do anything beneficial. While both rubber and organic mulches suppress weeds, the organic mulches have a slight edge here as there are many weeds that thrive in poor soil. An organic mulch will improve the structure and nutrient content of the soil, making some weeds less likely to thrive and all weeds are easier to pull. As others have mentioned, rubber also has a tendency to float or move during our summer storms. I find that large pine bark, like the type the builder used here, also tends to move about and escape the beds. I personally have had better luck with smaller pine nuggets or, even better, shredded wood. My hands-down favorite purchasable mulch is Florimulch. Florimulch is made from Melaleuca trees (a weedy invasive tree from Australia that Florida has been trying to remove from the Everglades), has a very nice golden color that doesn't fade all that quickly, lasts for a good long time (even on my paths that I walk on frequently) and is, so far, the cheapest of the bagged mulches.

Try asking on the house plant forum or the container forum.

If soil is still soggy, remove root/soil mass from pot and set it on a stack of newspaper for an hour or so. Towels or paper bags work, too. Then, get your watering under tight control - only water when the plant clearly needs water. Use a wooden dowel rod sharpened in a pencil sharpener as a "tell". Stick it deep into the soil and "read" it. Water when it is nearly dry when it comes out. Leaves of FLF are known for their foliage not returning to original spatial positions after a bout of wilt. If they don't, and you don't like how it looks - no problem pruning. It will likely force new branching behind the pruning cut. Al