What Happens When You Top Hardy Hibiscus - Pruning For More Flowers. 

Midwest Gardener great video but hers is a tropical and yours is a hardy (they’re gorgeous by the way) they are different varieties

Thanks! It seems to work pretty well for me usually.

Glad I could help!

Thanks for the tip!

You're welcome! I hope you get many years of enjoyment out of them.

You're welcome Nicole!

You're welcome!

Thanks CB! You have a great rest of the week too! We're getting some snow right now here.

Thanks!

Thanks a bunch! I'm ready for spring again, lol :)

Thanks Catalin! Very much appreciated! You have a wonderful day too!

Thanks Bob! I've seen her flowers, and it looks like she is pretty good at it :) I got the Yacon harvested. Not sure when I will get a video up though.

You're welcome! You must have plenty of room. That's cool that you have hummingbirds that like them. The hummingbirds around here really love our rose of sharon bushes, but don't pay much attention to our hardy hibiscus.

You're welcome! Good luck!

Thanks Jean!

Thank you! I hope it works out great for you. You're welcome!

Thanks! Yes, the unopened buds do look a little like paper lanterns. Some hibiscus have some interesting medicinal properties that I haven't really researched much too.

You're welcome! Thanks for watching!

I mean I wish other people's videos were as clear and well-done as yours.

Thank you very much for the kind words! I hope it works well for you. Feel free to drop back by and let us know how it goes.

Thanks for the clarification 😀

Yeah, it only takes a few minutes to do, and for me, it's worth the effort.

Thanks Debra! I think you will like the results. Feel free to drop back in and let us know how it goes.

Thank you very much, Beverly! That's very kind of you.

Hi Jean. Look forward to seeing how it works for you.

Thanks Sasha! Yes, they do grow back pretty fast. That's one thing I like about them.

Midwest Gardener You are welcome! I pinned a link of this video to the comments on my hibiscus video as it gets about 200 views a day and your video is a great tip for hibiscus growers 😊

Well, thank you very much for that! You are too kind as usual! Yours is a tropical hibiscus isn't it?

Midwest Gardener 😊 My pleasure. I’m not sure because a client of mine gave it to me. I’m sure you are right 😊

Well, that was a pretty awesome gift!

Nice! I hope it you are happy with the way it works out. Check back in and let us know how it goes.

@@MidwestGardener well I will gladly check back in another month but i can tell you its already working. I went from having 8 flower buds on one stalk to having 28 beginning to emerge. Its amazing!! From 8 to 28 basically overnight. Part of that is that i believe my husbandry is pretty consistent. Shes got a plenty of foods water and kelp stimulation. I used this method this morning on my hanging petunia basket, and once my dahlias are ready Ill do this to them too. My garden definitely will be the most attractive in town now. Thank you!!!🌺💗👨‍🌾

@@MidwestGardener its been a week since shes been topped. Shes got no additional height growth but now shes got just over 100 flower buds. Ive got one leaf that measures 10" length and 13" width. 🌺🌺🌺 its incredible!!

@@tiffanywhite2121 That's awesome, Tiffany!! Thanks for checking back in and letting us know.

Wow, I've never had that happen, Lori! I'm not sure what would cause it, but we never bother to fertilize ours.

I have before, but I don't usually because I have too many other plants to take care of. I just make sure to cut it well below the flower.

Well, there isn't much you can do. Either it made it through the winter or it didn't. I'm not sure where you are located, but here, our hardy hibiscus are one of the last perennials to sprout in the spring. I always leave some of the dead stems so I will know where to look for them. Good luck.

Hello! I'm glad that you were able to fix them up a little. I hope they do ok.

Some varieties have a tendency to get taller than others. They do best in full sun, so if they have too much shade they can a little leggy too. Since yours get so tall, I think I would top them when they are about 2 feet tall, and then again at about 4 feet tall if they haven't bloomed or have buds yet. I don't stake ours at all. BTW, I have a son who lives not to far from Knoxville. I'm not sure how far that is from where you are. Good luck! They can live for decades if well taken care of.

@@MidwestGardener knoxville is 15 minutes away from me!!! thanks, i was thinking at the 2 feet mark also, and then at 4 feet, i just hope i dont lose flowers because of it, but, mine get tons of flower buds on it, and i think would probably do very well with being topped twice, they are in full sun after they pass thru the morning trees, so i'd say after about 11am, until 6 pm, so they dont necessarily get leggy, just way tall, and way thick, and because so many stems coming out from the bottom, they bow out to make room for the new ones coming up from the center. then the stems on the outside, once they've bowed out so much, they just actually break off at the bottom, best explaining this like when you take a celery stalk, and bend the outer stalk off so that you can use it, how it breaks away from it at the bottom. maybe the pinching will be exactly what i need, i still think i may have to stake the outer ones, they lean out so far (not to get sun, but because the center of the plant is so full, that they have to lean out) (sometimes i think they are getting so much sun that they are actually growing to big for their own good. the one that is closer in toward the shade, (gets less direct sun, and for less hours), it never bows out because it never gets as big. maybe i will top the outer ones 3 times instead of 2 to keep the stalks from getting so tall and top heavy, when they bow out, they just break under the weight of it. i'd say they bow out almost to a 45 degree angle (just on the outer stems)

Sounds like you have a pretty good plan. Let us know how it works out later this summer. I'm thinking they will do much better after being topped a couple of times. Good luck and stay safe!

@@MidwestGardener so far it's working good!!! i made my first cut at like only 8 inches, because they were growing really fast and spindly, like 2 inches per day or something!! so i just cut just the top inch off, and that already caused it to fatten up a bit and put some branches on the sides of those stalks. when i never topped them, they kinda just grew really tall and no branching off, so i thank you once again for this video. i thought previously that if i cut the top off that it wouldnt flower (like when the deer or rabbits eat the tops off my lilies, they don't flower at all,) and i was thinking the same would happen with these hardy hibiscus but i ssee now, that they will be more bushy with pruning back instead of being so tall and lanky. plus when they get 6 feet tall then i have to stake them because the stalks arent strong enough to support it. thank you once again --- great instructional video!!!

@@missjenniferd You're welcome! I'm really glad that it's working out for you. And thanks a bunch for dropping in and letting us know how it's working!!

Hi Margie. That's something that I've never tried to do. I'm not sure if the hardy hibiscus can be started that way or not. I would think that they woody tropical ones could be. It never hurts to try though. Our hibiscus form such a clump that I thought they should be easy to divide in the spring. Well, maybe not easy, but it should work.

After I top my hardy hibiscus (only started doing it last year), I put the cut piece in water. It grows roots very fast - then I plant in small pot with earth. They just grow so easily -- and some bloomed that same year! I had to start giving them away there were so many for my small New York City balcony.

@@sieveroconnor-aoki8217 Thanks, that's good to know, I'll try that soon.

I completely understand. I've removed plants because I didn't think they were worth the work.

We are in south central Kansas.

If you are talking about the dead parts, I usually leave at least a few inches so I know where to expect it to sprout in the spring. If you are talking about pruning the green growing part, I don't prune anything in early spring. Ours are just now starting to sprout out of the ground.

It gets that big in just one season, pruning dead to 2”? Do you recommend pinching a newly aquired plant (3) new stems growing. Plant shows 2 dead stems

@@xa_l1187 I think I would just let it grow the first year, and think about topping it next year.

Yes, we have too many grasshoppers on everything each year.

Well, there are lots of things that can cause it. Too much water, or even too much heat can cause it. It could be too much fertilizer, or a combination of two or more things. It's really hard to say from here.

I hope it works well for you!

@@MidwestGardener thank you I'll give an update later in the season.

@@RoseTorn411 Awesome!

@@MidwestGardener they have new growth! And wow are they growing. Now I will not have long leggy hardy hibiscus! Thank you!!!

@@RoseTorn411 You're welcome :)

Hardy hibiscus seeds require cold stratification. I've found that the easiest way to plant the seeds is to plant them outside where I want them to grow in October. Some of them should come up the next spring.....a little later than some plants.

Thank you so much. By the way I live in zone 7b

@@malarieluckadue1042 You're welcome! You get to enjoy them a bit longer than we do then.

Sorry, but I've really never paid much attention to where they come up. When I top them, I usually just top them all.

If I remember fight, they are only hardy to zone 4, so if you want them to survive your cold winters I would cut the stems down to about 6 or 8 inches, then mulch them very well, and hope for the best.

Midwest Gardener Thank you very much.

You're welcome!

Nice eye! I never even noticed that.

Sorry.