Hibiscus Help!! Arghh,

I bought and planted two hibiscus this past summer. One has the braided stems/trunks and the other has one trunk which is sturdy. A client yesterday told me they had to be stored inside over the winter. She had her potted ones indoors. Well, I raced home and pulled mine out of the ground and put them in pots. Probably too late?

And then there is the puzzle. Judging by the trunks would these be classed as hardy or not?

One has a tag that says "Hibiscus President Red" and the other has yellow flowers.

It is my understanding that non sturdy Hibiscus have not got the shiny leaves but since my leaves are all dead, having been out in the snow, I can't tell which they are.

Should I stuff them back in the ground or try nursing them on their pots. Here's a pic. I haven't filled in aroud the roots as the bag of compost I brought in is still frozen solid.

 

Hi, Have you done the thumb nail test to see if there is any Green life on the stems? Try higher up and if no Green, try lower down.

 

Do you know the correct latin name of these.
There are some hardy ones, well hardy over here, not sure how low your temp goes in winter.
Have you got any pictures of them in flower.

 

Just googled it, no I think probably dead, they are the very tender kind.
https://www.google.com/search?q=hib...0i22i30l6.14554j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

Friday is brown bag garden waste day, so off they go...

Thanks for the help

 

Oh, what a shame @CanadianLori. I have never seen a braided Hibiscus only braided Pachira aquatica (Water Chestnut) although mine is not,

I currently have nine Hibiscus varieties and it has given me a thought as I have a couple of small ones.

 

To be honest, I would try the test @john558 suggested before I'd chuck it. If there's any green I would prune it severely.

 

I agree everything deserves a second chance

 

I've just finished a busy day and just now reading your replies.

Okay, I'm running out to the kerb to grab back the unwoven one. I did already prune the woven one and put it in the greenhouse which is kept at min 40f for now and then I'll bring them inside...

Thanks for the encouragement. I just couldn't bear pitching both of them and didn't want everyone to think I was a fool so, as is obvious, I kept mum.

Thanks again!!!

 

Care Instructions for Braided Hibiscus

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/hibiscus/braided-hibiscus-trees.htm

 

Thank you @Victoria !

 

imm a bit late to the party but i grow thses survived minus 10 but well drained soil

 

Braided tropical hibiscuses (hibiscus rosa-sinensis) do not "enjoy" freezing temperatures down here. I used to grow them in hedges while in the Caribbean but, winter over there had lots of sunlight and very warm and stable temperatures. The leaves and flowers are very sensitive to frost and easily killed by cold temperatures so now that I am in colder Texas, I bring the potted tropical hibiscuses inside before temperatures fall below 13C. The trunk and branches may survive slightly lower temperatures (lower than 13C) but anything below freezing that grows above the soil is bound to be killed. Looking at your past weather in Canada, your lowest temperature got down to -7C, very cold for many tropical plants. As suggested before, I would try the already recommended scratch test, often used with plumerias and other tropicals: gently scratch the bark with your fingernails to see if you see healthy tissue or not. If you do not see healthy tissue, try another location, lower than the first one. And so on, until you reach the lower trunk. At that point, if there is no healthy tissue, you can assume that most of the above ground tissues were killed. Then you can prune those parts and continue watering until Spring to see if any of the roots survived. Just make sure that any exposed roots are covered with some potting soil. If you see no growth in Spring, you can add the plants to the compost pile. Note: braided, standard, tropical hibiscus may be made of multiple plants (each one may produce a different color of bloom or all plants may be the same color) so it is veeeeery slightly possible that only one of the plants survived. But you will need to wait to see new growth from the bottom or new foliage by Spring. If you want to see, place the pots by a south facing window or glass door. My tropicals get some help using grow lights and a humidifier this time of the year but this is not needed if there is no foliage.

Better choices for the outside in a zone 6B like Oakville, Ontario, Canada:

Hardy hibiscuses like Hibiscus moscheutos, also known as rose mallows, these can be grown outside here in Texas and they are winter hardy to USDA Zone 4. Their blooms are almost the size of dinner plates. Because they are herbaceous perennials, they will lose the stems and leaves during winter but will return in the Spring. Mulch them well and maintain the soil so it is not dry (no need to water once the soil freezes).

Hibiscus syriacus, also known as Althea or Rose of Sharon, can also be grown outside here and they are hardy to USDA Zone 5. They have much smaller blooms and spread easily "thanks to the birds." Their single trunk and many branches tend to fare better (meaning the trunk does not dry out in winter) in my zone, instead of starting new stems from the ground up in Spring like their cousins, the hibiscus moscheutos. I am not sure if this will also occur in your zone 6b in Canada.

Hibiscus coccineus, also known as scarlet rose mallow, crimson rosemallow, wild red mallow, Texas star hibiscus, swamp angel, scarlet hardy mallow and marsh hibiscus is another multi-stemmed hardy hibiscus that produces (mostly) red or white flowers. It is native to marshes and swamps in states of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida but is hardy up to zone 5b and is not as water intensive as you may think, as it grows very well here in hot Texas (it is a naturalized perennial) as long as you provide water once a week or so (keep the soil moist; plant in well drained soil, just like for the other hibiscuses).

Luis

 

Thank you @luis_pr for the information. If I buy any more, I will use it Mine were dead so I held a funeral for them a few weeks back.

 

Hi @CanadianLori I have grown hibiscus coccineus from seed. Although they come back from new growth at the base every year, I have found they flower rather late and can get completely halted by frost. It happened this year - no flowers at all. So with your season being even shorter they might not work