You should expect the plants to respond differently when grown in pots than
being planted out in the ground. Grown in pots the plants will need more
water, fertilizing and protection from full sun.

No matter how you grow the plants, individual Hibiscus flowers open only for
a single day.

Your plant are probably deciduous perennial Hibiscus hybrids. What do you
plant to do with them over the winter when they die back to the rootstock?
You should plant them out in a permanent position in the garden.


"carbuff" wrote in message
news:e_eNe.253652$5V4.182479@pd7tw3no...
FWIW, here's my experience with Home Depot hibiscus. Around 6 weeks ago,
they had a weekend special - 48 inch plants in 10 inch pots for $19.99
Bought two, they looked a little root-bound, so bought a couple ceramic
planters and re-potted with good soil + compost. Did a Google search on
hibiscus which general consensus said: full sun and heat. WRONG!!!! The
few blooms that appeared lasted only 1 day, and slowly the leaves started
to turn yellow. Figuring that there was nothing to lose, I moved the pots
to the north side of the house, on each side of the attached garage.
There is a 3foot overhang, so they get indirect light for the majority of
the day, not to mention it's cooler there. They are now thriving, no
yellow leaves, and the blooms are proliferating and lasting several days
now. They are a gorgeous shade of apricot, which I had never seen before.
YMMV
BTW, I am in Winnipeg, which is Zone 3, if it matters.

P.S. They seem pretty thirsty, almost like hydrangeas.




"Ted" wrote in message
ups.com...
A couple weeks ago, I found at Home Depot, and bought, what they called
a "Rose of Sharon". It didn't look like any rose I've ever seen.
Instead its flowers looked like small, about 6 or 7 cm across (or about
2.5 inches), hibiscus flowers. Their horticulturalist said it is
winter hardy here (just a two hour highway drive north of Toronto
Ontario Canada), but that it tends to be a bit tender here.
(suggestions on protecting it, if in fact it is hardy here, would be
appreciated)

Today, I saw some plants, labelled as hibiscus at a grocery, and the
card that came with the plants from the store's suppliers says it is
hardy to USDA zone 5 (which I think includes us here). I thought
hibiscus were strictly tropical, and that the "rose of Sharon" I bought
might be a temperate cousin (smaller, hibiscus-like flowers on shrubby
stems). But the "hibiscus" I saw today looked to be as large and
colourful as those tropicals I'd seen at real garden centres, but on
stems that seemed as delicate as the stems of my begonias, with no
trace of wood. The card from the supplier said it would die down over
winter and start new growth in May, and then bloom until first frost.
While the flowers were as large as the tropical hibiscus I'd seen, they
didn't seem to have as much substance (a more papery look), but I don't
know if that is damage from the excessive heat we've had this summer.
My irises and lilies gave a less than adequate display this year
because of the heat. The card with them also said they'd stay small,
two thirds of a metre to a metre tall at most.

Anyway, is there really a hibiscus species or hybrid that is winter
hardy in a cool temperate region with such delicate stems? Or are these
plants certain to die like annuals here?

Can anyone shed light on this?

Thanks,

Ted