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hibiscus: problems after pruning

12 years ago

I think I may have overpruned my hibiscus, because there has hardly been any new growth since I pruned it. It is now the third week of March, and I pruned it the third week of January. I left some leaves, though not too many, and I think I cut too much off. Both of them are tropical hibiscus, about 2 feet tall. One is in a container (about 5 years old), and the other is in the ground (planted in the ground last summer). Oh, the one in the container got repotted and root pruned as well. They were both doing fine before I pruned them. What can I do to nurse the plants back to health? Usually around this time of year in San Diego, California these plants are having growth spurts, so I know something is wrong. Please help!

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Comments (2)

jean001a
12 years ago
It might help us if you can post pictures. Please try.
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
12 years ago
If you bare-rooted and the root pruning was extensive (hopefully you did and it was), it may take a little while for the plant to get its feet under it. This would be especially true if the plant wasn't growing robustly prior to dormancy (if it goes dormant there). What have temperatures been like where you live since the repot? Never mind ...... San Diego - in the 70s, right?

It's pretty difficult to over-prune a Hibiscus, so I think you can put your mind at ease insofar as that thought goes. Have you been fertilizing? What about the soil? Do you think it might be excessively water-retentive?

Al

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