Should I just rip' em out...?

18 years ago

When we 1st moved in, I planted several Hibiscus of unknown type. I have some duplicate common red doubles, common pink doubles, and some that have not bloomed yet. These are very established plants(I just hacked them down to 3' from a 4' x 6' high bush). They are putting out new leaves like crazy. Now I am educated to the many beautiful varieties, and would like to add a few more unique qarieties, but hate the thought of just hacking up and killing a perfectly healthy plant. Once established to this degree, can the roots be moved somewhere else? One, I hacked down to the ground, and it's growing new branches faster than the others. I think it's been there for 15yrs though. They are very hardy plants.

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Comments (2)

birdinthepalm
18 years ago
Amost any plant can be moved , even very huge established oaks etc. believe it or not, but one thing is required and that's an equally big rootball, and the same could be said for larger hibiscuses, and if you're willing to give them a decent rootball, and do some top pruning when you move them they should readjust just fine with watering during any dry periods. They're not so drought tollerate right after transplanting them. I'd watch going too heavy with the pruning however , so you don't get a "pollarded" look to them , meaning they're cut back to the main branches off the trunk, so you have all those many thin new shoots comming off some very large old branches. It's just not as aesthetically pleasing as having plants with the normal graduation of branch thicknesses you normally get as plants age and produce those "graduated" branches. At least in my opinion!
rsieminski
Original Author
18 years ago
Too late! I already hacked the one to the ground, kinda with the intention of doing away with it. I then got to feeling guilty, and took another look and it's growing faster than ever(many thin shoots).