HIBISCUS — PRUNING & ROOTING CUTTINGS
by Marti Graves | American Hibiscus Society – Lone Star Chapter
PRUNING TIPS
- Hibiscus bloom on new growth, so do not be afraid to prune. You can prune all summer.
- Hibiscus growers prune to remove dead or diseased wood and to shape a plant.
- Start with clean, sharp bi-pass clippers. You may need lopping shears if your plants are large.
- To keep pruners clean and not spread disease, prepare a spray bottle of bleach solution (10% bleach mixed in water) or rubbing alcohol full strength to spray on clipper blades between cuts.
- Always cut at an angle to shed water.
- Cut as close to the main branch as possible. Stubs can become diseased.
- Remove small twigs and branches that cross the inside of the plant. Find buds that face outward and cut above, leaving the outward bud, to encourage the bud to grow outward creating a prettier plant. Outward growth allows light and air to reach the plant center, reducing insect and fungus problems.
- You may prune prior to new growth appearing. Don’t do this too early as the new growth may bud out and get hit with a late cold snap.
- If you have a plant that has not bloomed in a while, try pinching off (with forefinger and thumb) the youngest foliage on branch tips. This kicks off a complex hormonal rearrangement that results in new branching and directs nourishment to remaining foliage. If you carefully do this above a bud, you will get bigger blooms.
ROOTING CUTTINGS TIPS
- If your hibiscus plants have been growing well and they just need trimming, practice the pruning techniques describe above.
- Try rooting the healthy trimmings – branches that least pencil sized in diameter and pencil sized in length.
- Prepare a small pot with 1/3 light soil and 2/3 perlite. Dip cuttings in a rooting hormone available at most garden supply companies). Some are powder and some are liquid; both work.
- Place as many cuttings as you can in the same pot. It is thought they release an enzyme that improves rooting ability.
- Rootings started in spring should have roots forming in 6 – 8 weeks.
- Once roots showing out of the pot bottom, it is time to plant.
- Remove all of the cuttings together. Place the clump in a pail of water. Gently swish the clump in the water, separating each plant.
- Plant your new hibiscus in a light soil with plenty of inert material.
