Familiar with scarlett hibiscus?

i planted some last year and it looked like a little weed. my landscaper cut the dried sticks to dirt level in the spring. this summer, new stalks came out of the ground 5' tall,and since july i've been getting a floral fireworks. question is, what to do this year when the big stalks die off? cut em or leave em?

Familiar with scarlett hibiscus?
The perennial hibiscus once the stalks lose the green color you cut em all the way down. They don't come back..they shoot out new growth as you discovered. If you leave them, energy from the plant is being wasted. If you cut em, new growth shoots up come late June and you get a beautiful healthy plant. I love the perennial hibiscus..they are to die for. Most buy the tropical and I don't think the blooms are nearly as breath taking as the dinner plate size blooms.
Reply:If they are just stalks (not branching like a tree) then just cut them down. If they look like hibiscus flowers but have the shape of a shrub they are Rose of Sharon and should not be cut down.





I have grown both and they are very prolific bloomers.
Reply:If you wait til spring to cut it back like last year you will not chance losing the plant to cold.
Reply:Cut them down to a few inches after the entire plant dries up in the fall. They also make good cut flowers for bouqeuts. Ours have been growing back in the same spot for about seven years.
Reply:You have Chinese Hibiscus.





It actually depends on what part of the country you live in.


Zone 7 or lower? Don't cut them down as new leaves will emerge from those 'sticks' and you will have a larger, more beautiful plant next season.





http://www.backyardgardener.com/zone/

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