The garden hibiscus enchants every year anew, bot. Hibiscus syriacus, also called garden marshmallow or rose marshmallow, with a magnificent abundance of flowers. With the right pruning, not only can the abundance of flowers be stimulated, you can also shape the growth form and spread of your hibiscus yourself.

Good reasons for pruning

With its eye-catching, colorful flowers, the hibiscus is a welcome guest in the garden. In order to promote flowering, to maintain a compact growth habit and to counteract senescence, the hibiscus should be cut back regularly.

With the right cut to the desired result

Even young plants can be stimulated to vigorous, compact growth if they are cut regularly. A vigorous pruning of the shoots in the first few years promotes the branching of the shrub.

Once the hibiscus has reached its compact growth form, you only have to shorten individual sprawling shoots, remove old twigs and thin out the bush from the inside. With an annual pruning of the side shoots to a few eyes, you encourage the branches to shoot again. Shortening the faded shoots by about a third in late winter also encourages flowering.

If the hibiscus has grown too big over the years, has become bare on the inside or has only grown on one side, a rejuvenation cut is done. Here the bush is cut back to two thirds and weak and withered branches are removed.

Although the garden hibiscus has adapted well to our relatively mild winters, it can happen that individual branches or twigs freeze to death in severe frost. These are removed as well as withered and diseased branches.

The scissors should be used at the latest when the flowers are getting smaller and the bush is bare. Have courage, the hibiscus tolerates a strong pruning well!

The right time to cut

As a summer bloomer, the hibiscus attaches its flowers to the new wood. If you cut before the new shoots, the shrub will thank you with vigorous growth and countless flowers. The best time for pruning is therefore spring from the end of March, when the severe night frosts are over.

Cutting tools and cutting technique

The pruning of the hibiscus is done with garden shears or pruning shears. These should be well sharpened so as not to injure the plant by unnecessary squeezing. The blade is attached directly to the trunk or diagonally over an eye.

tips and tricks

The hibiscus can be trained to form a flowering, closed hedge. For this purpose, the hibiscus is cut back by about a third every spring. In addition, diseased, withered and transversely growing branches are removed.

Category:

Vegetable garden