We're about to do a hard pruning on our Tropical Hibiscus. They now are now about 7ft and we want to bring them down to about 4ft.
Any tips, warnings etc. would be appreciated.
Any tips, warnings etc. would be appreciated.
Hibiscus Hard Prune
- Thread starter crossnote
- Start date
Hey crossnote;
Can you post photos of your hibiscus? It may help with tips.
Thanks!
Can you post photos of your hibiscus? It may help with tips.
Thanks!
It's night time right now, so hopefully tomorrow.
Bob,
Had to use a smaller photo so maybe the details are lacking. (what's the largest size allowable for posting?)
My wife likes to keep them tied together so they don't spread all over the place.
She likes to keep them continually cut, but consequently little flowering.
Hey crossnote,
You can use whatever size photo that will fit. I would say 1-2 feet late summer or fall would be good from looking at your hibiscus. But I feel Lanolin, CPerkins can answer better how much to prune.
I like your sidewalk. Did you lay the bricks yourself?
You can use whatever size photo that will fit. I would say 1-2 feet late summer or fall would be good from looking at your hibiscus. But I feel Lanolin, CPerkins can answer better how much to prune.
I like your sidewalk. Did you lay the bricks yourself?
hmm. I haven't had to prune my hibiscus as I keep it in a pot. Yours are nice and bushy like a hedge but it's a shame they don't flower as much.
Though they can handle hard pruning, I'd say prune no more than a third, you can also remove some interior branches to make it more open and then you might get more flowers. Do it in the cool season.
Though they can handle hard pruning, I'd say prune no more than a third, you can also remove some interior branches to make it more open and then you might get more flowers. Do it in the cool season.
They have gotten plenty of flowers in the past but my wife likes to keep them shaped weekly so they end up with hardly any flowers.
Topiary? Another term this dunce had to look up. The only topiary that goes on in this home is her training my growth.
I'm very much a beginning pruner. There are a few things I've learned. One is that it is important to know when to prune because you could be cutting off the next years produce. Also trees and shrubs go in and out of a dormancy period. I usually do most of my pruning in the late fall. This year I did a hard prune on some fruit trees, I don't expect any fruit this year, but it is likely to encourage my trees to be fuller rather than taller.
Knowing where to cut and what to cut is important as well.
Shaping your trees and shrubs is more difficult because you are fighting the natural tendencies of the shrub or tree. I have no advice on this, but I often go an ask a master gardener these kind of questions. They are usually offer very good advice and/or direct you to good references or sources for better understanding.