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belleg96

Separating Hardy Hiciscus

belleg96
17 years ago

I have a very large hardy hibiscus, blooms dark red, large blooms. It has taken over the bed where it is planted. Is it possible to 'separate' as you do lillies and such? I have a friend who would like to plant half of this in her yard. As long as I separate the plant in half, would I get enough tap root for both halves to survive? I would like to do this next weekend and would appreciate any advice I can get before then. Thank you in advance!

Comments (4)

  • belleg96
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Would someone knowledgeble please answer me? I need to know before I do this!
    Thank you in advance for your help!

  • gardengrove_ac
    17 years ago

    They separate very well if the parent is big enough. The key is to try to get the division proportional, as long as you balance out the amount of roots with the size of the top plant at least somewhat you'll be OK...depending on how its growing your hibiscus is probably going to have some taproots, but I would only really concern myself with digging up a sane amount of those. The roots are really muscalagious (feel slimey) amd can hold a lot of water and nutrients, so division really doesn't harm them.
    Hope that helps.
    Peace

  • belleg96
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thank you so much! I'm reassured that if I'm careful I won't kill her part or mine, which would be a shame because it's so beautiful all summer into fall. Its still blooming even now! Thanks again. I appreciate your time and knowledge.

  • gardengrove_ac
    17 years ago

    No problem, also, until it gets too cold for water try to keep the root systems on the new plants pretty moist...these plants are part-time marsh dwellers and the do much better if they're roots can get well established before freezing. (They do however handle even the worse saturated frozen ground; one of the biggest naturalized stands around my area is in a drainage ditch which is submerged and has road salt and car exhaust beating it and every summer the patch just gets bigger)

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