Question
I seem to see a lot of the buds dropped off the young hibiscis bushes. I wonder if this is from snails or another type of bug.  there is a clean cut right under the bud's head. What can I do to prevent this from happening. How can I make these young shrubs also branch out to start a hedge type of shrub

Answer
Hi Lila
bud drop usually is associated with dramitic temperature drop and will correct itself in time.  The only pests that bother these shrubs are whiteflies and aphids but neither have been found to be the cause of a bud drop. inspect the shrubs and if you see specks on the underside of leaves they are white flies, if you see clusters of green bumps on the stems of the leaves or the buds then you have aphids.  Both of these pests are treated the same. spray with orthene every two weeks for about 6 weeks. your shrub will grow upright and spread slightly depending on how high you let it grow, for a hedge of this type you need to plant several of them about 3 or 4 feet apart.   Good Luck  Larry  ;-)