Hibiscus brings an abundance of flowers and a tropical feel to any setting. There are many varieties of Hibiscus; some are tropical – Hibiscus rosa-sinensis – (USDA hardiness zones 9 and above), and some are hardy or native to the United States (USDA hardiness zones 4 and above).
Pruning benefits all varieties, but depending upon the variety you have and the way you plan to keep it, pruning timing and technique may vary.
In this article, we discuss how and when to prune your hibiscus plant. Read on to learn more.
Unlocking More Blooms: Why Hibiscus Needs Pruning
Pruning your hibiscus shrub is not about keeping it neat. It’s about boosting its health and making it bloom more beautifully.
With a light trim of the branch tips, you encourage your plant to grow more branches, creating a fuller, bushier look. And the best part?
More branches mean more opportunities for your hibiscus to produce flower buds. Since the stunning blooms are what we love most about hibiscus, this is a huge win!
But pruning does more than make your plant look great. It also removes damaged or diseased leaves and branches that could harm the plant’s overall health.
Regular pruning is an easy way to ensure your hibiscus stays strong and vibrant for the long haul. For pruning, we recommend and have used for years Felco #2 hand pruners.
Action Steps:
- Trim the branch tips to encourage a fuller shape and more blooms.
- Remove damaged or sick leaves and branches to keep the plant healthy.
- Make pruning a regular part of your hibiscus care routine for ongoing health benefits.
When Is The Best Time To Prune Hibiscus?
Hardy and Tropical Hibiscus are pruned in pretty much the same manner throughout the growing season. However, there are differences in how you prune at the beginning and end of the growing season.
Understanding the Key Differences Between Tropical and Hardy Hibiscus
When it comes to hibiscus, not all varieties are created equal! The two main types, Tropical and Hardy Hibiscus, have different care needs, especially when it comes to how they handle cold weather.
Hardy Hibiscus
Hardy Hibiscus plants are native to the United States and are true perennials, meaning they can survive year-round in USDA hardiness zones 4 and above.
- Hardy Hibiscus naturally dies back to the ground every winter and regrows in the spring. However, patience is key—new growth might not appear until mid-summer.
- In colder climates, it’s best to cut back the dead stalks in late winter or early spring. Leave about 6″ inches of the stalk so you’ll know where your plant is located.
- As your Hardy Hibiscus begins to grow, prune lightly to control its size and shape. Throughout the growing season, deadhead the spent hibiscus flowers and remove any damaged leaves or branches.
- You can also trim back about one-third of the new growth to encourage more branches and blooms. Keep an eye on it during the growing season and prune as needed for the healthiest plant.
Tropical Hibiscus
Tropical Hibiscus, on the other hand, can’t handle cold temperatures. If you live in a chilly climate, you’ll want to bring this plant indoors during the winter months.
When kept indoors, your Tropical Hibiscus behaves like a perennial.
- However, if you prefer, you can treat it as an annual and purchase a new plant each spring for your garden.
- If you live in a tropical area where Tropical Hibiscus can stay outside year-round, it’s important to prune it regularly.
- These plants appreciate a good prune throughout spring, summer, and fall, and a more intense prune at the end of the growing season.
- Just be careful not to overdo it—Tropical Hibiscus blooms on new growth, so a hard prune can delay flowers for months.
Action Steps:
- Prune Hardy Hibiscus lightly in spring and trim dead stalks in late winter.
- Deadhead and lightly prune Tropical Hibiscus throughout the warm seasons.
- Bring Tropical Hibiscus indoors during winter if you live in a colder climate.
Types of Hibiscus You May Like:
- Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus)
- Blue Hibiscus (Alyogyne Huegelii)
- Texas Star Hibiscus – Hibiscus coccineus
- Confederate Rose – Hibiscus mutabilis
- Swamp Mallow – Hibiscus Moscheutos
What About Potted Tropical Hibiscus?
If you live in a cold setting and plan to keep your pots of Tropical Hibiscus indoors in the wintertime, pruning will depend upon where you keep your plant.
If you’re keeping the plant in the basement to go dormant through the winter, give it a light trim before storing it away. Give plants a hard, full prune when you bring them out to resume growth late in the winter or early spring.
On the other hand, if you’re keeping it as a houseplant or in a greenhouse, give it a hard pruning late in the fall before you bring it indoors to grow for the winter.
Related: Check out our article: Hibiscus Care in Winter
How To Prune Hibiscus?
In addition to taking care of the plant’s health, you should also keep an eye on it just for good looks.
If left to their own devices, Hibiscus will get tall and leggy and become very top-heavy.
This causes the stalks to lean every which way, causing your plant to look unbalanced and strange. Fixing the unbalanced look will require corrective pruning.
Examine your plant every week or two and trim back branches (selective pruning) leaning to the left or right.
Doing so will encourage a bushier growth habit and eliminate problems with sparse areas in the center of the plant.
Here’s how to prune hibiscus:
- When you trim back individual branches, look for leaf nodes.
- This is the point at which leaves emerge.
- Sometimes, they just look like bumps, and sometimes, they have little leaves growing.
- Trim just above a leaf node so you will get good, bushy growth at the point where you cut.
- Encourage stalks to grow one way or another by slanting your cut in the direction you want the plant to grow.
- Cut about a quarter-inch above a leaf node with the slant facing how you want to direct the new growth.
- While actively growing, remember to never remove more than a third of the plant at once.
- Always use sharp scissors, pruning shears, or bypass hand pruners (Felco) to make clean, efficient cuts.
What is Deadheading?
Deadheading is an important component of pruning.
It is the practice of promptly removing faded flowers to encourage more blooms.
When flowers begin to wilt, they lose their aesthetic appeal, yet they continue to drain the plant’s energy.
Removing them helps your plant focus its energy on creating more flowers.
You should keep a close eye on your hibiscus and deadhead flowers right away when you see they are beginning to fade and wilt.
Don’t allow seedpods to begin to form, as this is a big drain on energy.
- To deadhead, you should snip or snap off the plant’s stem below the faded blossom at the point where it joins with its main stem.
- If you use scissors or bypass pruners to snip off faded flowers, be sure the blades are clean and sharp.
- Dirty blades spread germs and dull blades damage plants.
- Use a paper towel soaked with rubbing alcohol to clean the blades before trimming your plant.
How to Prune an Overgrown Hibiscus for a Fresh Start
If mature Hibiscus have been neglected, they may be filled with dead wood branches and excessive, uncontrolled growth.
In this case, hard pruning may be in order. Using sharp pruning shears, begin by cutting back as much of the old growth as possible.
Don’t forget to wipe the cutting surfaces and pruning tools with a disinfectant, such as rubbing alcohol, horticultural disinfectant, or hand sterilizer to prevent the spread of disease.
Remember, it’s best to prune your plant in late winter or early spring when the tender new growth will be safe from frost or cold damage.
Hard pruning on an old, neglected Hibiscus can work wonders.
When the new growth appears, it will be far more likely to bloom and prosper than the old growth you have removed.
To perform this kind of hard hibiscus pruning, cut the branches down to between 6” inches and a foot high.
Leave a couple of leaf nodes intact on each stalk.
This is where new growth will come from.
Although it may take quite a while for a mature Hibiscus to recover from this type of extreme pruning, when it does, you will be delighted by its abundant new growth and blooms.
Hibiscus Pruning: What To Do After You Prune?
After pruning hibiscus in the springtime, feed your Hibiscus with potassium-rich flowering plant fertilizer.
Look for an NPK ratio of 3 –1 – 4.
This is just the right formulation for healthy growth and abundant flowering.
Be careful not to provide food with too much nitrogen because this will result in lots of leaves and not too many flowers.
Likewise, too much phosphorus causes problems for Hibiscus.
Fertilizers too rich in phosphorus will cause Hibiscus plants to become yellow and fade rapidly.
Learn more about –> Hibiscus Fertilizer
With Hibiscus plants, following the weakly/weekly program is a good idea.
Provide a teaspoonful of fertilizer mix per gallon of water once a week.
If you feel unable to keep up with this regimen, use a slow-release fertilizer seasonally, and provide a light feeding of potassium monthly while in active growth.