Question
Hi Tom,

I have an established hibiscus plant growing in part of my garden. It is about 4 ft (120 cm) high with about 4 main branches arising from the its base which develop into several smaller branches. For 12 years it has produced excellent foliage and colourful small pink flowers.

Last year in In October/ November I decided to remove many of the overgrown plants around the hibiscus including their roots. I introduced plum decorative slate around the remaining plants including the hibiscus. I now wonder if I have disturbed the hibiscus plant in some way?

I have noticed this year for the first time that the foliage has not returned as strong and there are no flowers. On most of the branches there are buds which developed into leaves. However the leaves are smaller and there are less of them. I also cut back in April 2008 some of the branches which did not appear in good condition. I scraped off a small section of its bark and it is green underneath which I am told indicates it is still alive.
The bark colour on the outside is like a very pale grey colour.

I just wondered should I just leave the hibiscus and hope it returns with its full foliage growth and flowers next year? Alternatively is this a sign the plant is damaged in some way and is it unlikely to return to its previous condition? In which case should I consider removing it? Really I do not want to lose this plant

Please can you advise about the hibiscus plant's condition and what I should do?

Brent  

Answer
Hi Brent,
Thanx for your question.  Are you in Canada?  I am in the Midwest of the USA.  My hibiscus are coming out rather slowly this year because we had a protracted winter.  It seems we jumped from an early cold spring to warm, muggy weather all of a sudden and the hibiscus as responded by slowly coming out of its dormancy.  This is common in areas where there are cold winters.  You may have disturbed some of the roots of the hibiscus but not enough to kill it.  I believe it has more to do with the weather than your digging around the shrub's roots.  Be patient with it.  When the summer is nice and warm and the soil has completely warmed up your hibiscus will reward you with nice foliage and beautiful blossoms.  You might want to treat the hibiscus with a fertilizer rated for flowering shrubs, something low in nitrogen but higher in phosphorus and potassium.  Your local nursery will have this fertilizer readily available.  Make sure the plant is well watered once a week if you're not having regular rain.  I hope this helps.
Tom