Garden hibiscus is the only representative within the hibiscus genus with reliable winter hardiness. The opulent flowering shrub is native to Chinese provinces where the climate is harsh and winters are cold. The ornamental tree develops into a spectacular summer bloomer if you note a pruning on the care plan once a year. This tutorial explains in detail when and how to perfectly cut garden hibiscus.

Table of Contents

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  1. Types of cuts and dates
  2. plant cutting
  3. build-up cut
  4. maintenance cut
  5. clean up
  6. taper cut
  7. Training cut high stem
  8. Conservation high stem
  9. frequently asked Questions

    10. Prune garden hibiscus every year

    Garden hibiscus holds court with lavish blooms in a sunny, warm and wind-protected bed. Its mallow-shaped individual flowers shine from July to September with a breathtaking size of up to 20 centimeters. A shrub marshmallow lays the buds for the summer blossom festival this year's shoots that sprout from a stable framework of strong ground shoots. Similar to summer lilac, the abundance of flowers benefits from an annual, courageous pruning. Without pruning care, the blossom wood stagnates, the number and size of the flowers decreases and the flowering time shortens to a few weeks. Record the following types of cuts and dates in the maintenance program:

    cut type goal/occasion best appointment
    plant cutting bushy branching, compact growth after planting
    build-up cut Build a stable framework as a basis for annual flowering wood early February to early March
    maintenance cut Willingness to bloom and shapeliness preserved early February to early March
    clean up Remove withered flowers, prevent self-seeding after flowering
    taper cut revitalize old garden hibiscus November to February
    Upbringing high stem Train hibiscus to become a standard late February to early March
    Conservation high stem Promote young blossom wood in the crown area late February to early March

    Pruning encourages branching

    Traditionally, garden hibiscus is built up with a shoot and several side branches close to the ground. The habit is undoubtedly harmonious and decorative. However, the shrub structure has the disadvantage that damage to the dominant shoot affects the entire wood. This tutorial advocates a structure with 5 to 7 bottom shoots as a permanent framework. If a scaffolding shoot is damaged or grows old prematurely, a corrective pruning has no adverse effects on the remaining ground shoots. The following pruning initiates the build-up phase:

    • The best time is on planting day
    • Make up for the pruning of flowering young plants in the following February
    • Cut off damaged and weak shoots
    • Cut strong branches back by half to two-thirds
    • Cut a few millimeters above a bud

    Please measure the extent of the cut according to the rule of thumb: the weaker the young plant, the stronger the plant cut. The primary goal of the pruning is a bushy branching at the lower end of the shrub. By removing the top buds, lower-lying eyes sprout that would otherwise have remained dormant. The result is a densely branched garden hibiscus from the base.

    background

    Eliminate top bud dominance for bushy branching

    One of the most important laws of growth teaches us about the dominance of top buds in plant growth. Because the shoot tips are the quickest to reach the light, the upper buds are preferentially supplied with nutrients. So that you don't go away empty-handed in the lower part of the bush, pruning counteracts the dominance of top buds. This is easily achieved by pruning shoots. Previously disadvantaged eyes are the new top buds, benefiting from increased juice pressure and an optimized supply of nutrients. As a result, the buds sprout and a young garden hibiscus thrives with a bushy, branched base. The effect is permanent and cannot be achieved later in later years.

    Grow garden hibiscus in stages

    From the second year of growth, trimming revolves around a decorative structure with 5 to 7 scaffolding shoots. As illustrated below, 4 to 6 lower shoots gather around a slightly raised main shoot. The top buds of the outer skeletal shoots point outwards, giving your garden hibiscus a pleasing shape. How to skilfully build a shrub marshmallow:

    • Best pruning time is in February
    • Cut off excess shoots at the base
    • Cut back last year's growth by a third or half on each trellis shoot
    • Leave the shoot 10 to 15 centimeters higher in the center of the bush
    • Shorten side shoots to 5 centimeters along a trellis-forming bottom shoot

    Understandably, it is difficult to cut back the already slowly growing skeleton shoots. Whoever manages to do this cut will be rewarded with a luxuriantly branching garden hibiscus, whose lower shoots produce an abundance of young flowering shoots every year.

    How long the build-up phase lasts depends on the desired final height. The development is accompanied by a tendentially increasing bloom, so that the transition from growth to maintenance pruning is fluid.

    A skeleton of 5 to 7 lower shoots offers the perfect starting position for floriferous growth. A skeleton shoot remains vital for many years and carries this year's valuable blossom wood. A beautiful habit is achieved when 4 to 6 lower shoots frame the dominant middle shoot.

    digression

    More fun cutting hibiscus with the right tool

    Hibiscus wood is one of the most commonly used types of wood in Asia for good reason. The lightweight wood is easy to cut and perfect for making door frames, outrigger boats, planks and art. The structure of the wood and its compatibility with cutting make garden hibiscus pruning a pleasure if the right cutting tool is available. You can skilfully cut branches up to 2 centimeters thick with one-hand pruning shears, optionally with a bypass or anvil mechanism. Thick shoots with a thickness of 2 to 4 centimeters can be cut straight through with two-hand pruning shears, ideally including a power-boosting ratchet gear and telescopic arms. For thinning out thick scaffolding shoots with a diameter of more than 4 centimeters, we recommend the handy folding saw (€17.70), also known as the Japanese saw.

    Maintenance pruning for garden hibiscus

    A garden hibiscus maintains a shapely silhouette and opulent blooms if it is granted an annual maintenance cut. The following pruning has proven to be excellent in gardening practice:

    • The best time to cut is in February
    • Thin out dead shoots at the beginning as well as transverse and inward branches
    • Cut off the weaker of the 2 V-shaped growing shoots from the previous year
    • Cut back skeletal shoots to the desired final height
    • Shorten faded side branches to 5 cm inside the bush and 10 cm outside
    • Always cut 3 to 5 millimeters apart to an outward-facing bud

    Over the years, you will be confronted with outdated scaffolding shoots as part of the maintenance cut. The ground shoots often lean to the ground because they can no longer bear the load of numerous branches in the upper area. Instead of thinning out aging skeleton shoots, we recommend slimming down by derivation. You can read about how to perform a derivation cut in the background explanation below.

    Thin out dead wood rigorously for a light-flooded shrub framework. Cut back faded shoots from the previous year to 5 to 10 centimetres. Divert aging scaffolding shoots to a side shoot that is in a favorable position.

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    Derivation cut - ingeniously simple in execution - simply ingenious in the result

    If the cutting technique of the derivation rounds off your gardening skills, a garden hibiscus benefits from the know-how of its caring hand. The aim is to divert the growth forces into a vital, favorably positioned side shoot. For this purpose, do not indiscriminately prune an old skeletal shoot that is too long. Instead, you look for a suitable replacement drive at the desired height, which takes over the leading position at this point. Place the shears or saw at the fork of old and new wood. Do not cut into the new shoot, but into the old wood a few millimeters behind the branch. From now on, the juices flow into the young rod without leaving an unsightly gap in the garden hibiscus.

    Cleaning prevents self-seeding

    Garden hibiscus has a reputation for being prone to invasive spread. In fact, its picturesque cupped flowers turn into hosts of germinable seeds. Is self-sowing not in your interest? Then target wilted blooms in late summer. Gardeners with a long thread of patience and plenty of time cut off each withered inflorescence one at a time. In regions with harsh winters, the late cut date harbors the risk of frost damage below the cut.

    It is quicker and safer to use your hand to move the seed heads from bottom to top strip off. With the other hand, hold a bowl to catch falling seed pods. Ideally, the material should be disposed of in the rubbish bin. On the compost, the long-lived seeds sooner or later end up under the organic fertilizer and are unintentionally spread throughout the garden.

    Rejuvenate garden hibiscus

    Garden hibiscus is characterized by increasing sensitivity to frost on older wood. If signs of aging appear on a scaffolding shoot, such as low new growth and dry spots, regular maintenance pruning can only limit the aging process to a limited extent. If the bottom shoots gradually die off, a radical rejuvenation cut solves the problem. How to properly revitalize an old garden hibiscus:

    • The best date is between November and February, in compliance with the Federal Nature Conservation Act
    • Prune overgrown shoots down to a short 5 cm long pine
    • Other skeletal shoots lead to a lower side branch
    • Alternatively, cut back the entire shrub to 30 to 50 centimeters
    • Fertilize rejuvenated garden hibiscus in early March with compost and horn shavings

    After a strong rejuvenation cut, a garden hibiscus proves its vigour. Until the following year, the shrub hibiscus sprout vigorously in many places. Carefully select the best shoots to build a new framework from. The flowering period falls in the year after the rejuvenation. The primary interest of the plant is to quickly compensate for lost branches from sleeping eyes. For this purpose, your garden hibiscus creates leaf and shoot buds and does without flower buds.

    A neglected and senescent garden hibiscus is brought back to life with a rejuvenating pruning. Cut back overgrown shoots to a short stub. Untidy ramified skeletal shoots are slimmed down by a derivation cut. Shorten the remaining side shoots to 5 centimeters.

    Makeover cut - wake-up call for sleeping eyes

    Are you wondering how an aging shrub hibiscus sprouts out of old wood? The secret lies deeply hidden and almost invisible just under the bark. At the beginning of its plant life, hibiscus lays dormant buds. The vegetation points are called sleeping eyes because they inactive and tiny stay just below the bark. Their sole purpose in life is to replace lost instincts. A radical pruning acts as a floral wake-up call for dormant buds and kickstarts growth.

    As a result of the pruning, the sunlight reaches the passive vegetation points unhindered, which increases photosynthesis and sprouting. A generous portion of compost and horn shavings (€32.93) makes a valuable contribution to the activation process. Instead of adding an old garden marshmallow to the "old iron" and clearing it, you build on the "iron reserve" and put the old man on the stick without further ado.

    tips

    Where garden marshmallow feels at home, it thrives as a majestic shrub with a height of up to 3 meters. Creative gardeners take advantage of this property and plant the flowering shrub as a Hedge with privacy function at summertime. an easy modified conservation cut supports opaque growth. In February, prune a third of the previous year's faded shoots to 2 buds, a third by half and a third not at all or only along the shoot tips that protrude from the hedge.

    Raise a decorative high stem

    The good pruning tolerance allows garden hibiscus to be trained as a standard. In view of a leisurely growth of 10 to 15 centimeters a year, the construction work takes off several years claim. Your patience will be rewarded with a picturesque, extravagantly flowering eye-catcher in beds and tubs from early summer to autumn. Proven varieties for this form of cultivation are 'Ultramarine' and 'Hamabo', which with annual growth of 15 to 30 centimeters lead to the elegant end result more quickly. This is how you train garden hibiscus to become a magnificent standard:

    • The best time to cut is in February every year
    • center drive uncut leave, cut off all side shoots
    • Continuously remove all side shoots until the desired trunk height is reached
    • Cut off the top of the middle shoot three buds above the planned crown height
    • Shorten the four strongest shoots to 2 or 3 eyes as a crown structure
    • Cut back excess side shoots to 3 to 5 cm

    You can force the thick growth of the central shoot into a stable trunk with two additional pruning measures. For this purpose, in May and July of the first two years of education, cut off all the shoots that will sprout from the future trunk. As a result, no plant energy is wasted, but promptly redirected to the growth of the central shoot.

    Caution: Only prune the center shoot tip when its top bud is at least three buds above the desired base of the crown. Cutting a top bud activates branching to the clear stem crown. The growth in height of the central shoot is almost completely stopped in favor of the growth of side shoots. As a rule, it is not possible to let a standard tree grow taller afterwards.

    Shape and maintain tall stems

    After completion of the training phase, the pruning of the hibiscus standard leads to the maintenance phase. Every spring you dedicate yourself to the faded shoots of the previous year. A Cut back to two buds paves the way for this year's blossom wood. Take this opportunity to thin out dead branches or branches that are growing into the crown.

    Trim a crown leader as long as it has not yet reached the desired final length. So that it thrives vigorously and vigorously, cut back last year's growth by half to two-thirds. If a leader has reached the desired final length, cut back the growth completely. Cut off any branches that are sprouting from the trunk below the crown. The figure below illustrates the correct procedure in the transition phase from training to maintenance pruning.

    Once the leading branches of the crown have reached the desired length, maintenance pruning is concentrated on last year's faded shoots. Cut these back to two buds so that fresh blossom wood can grow. Shoots below the crown are removed.

    frequently asked Questions

    Is garden hibiscus hardy?

    As the only species of the hibiscus genus, garden hibiscus (Hibiscus syriacus) is reliably hardy in our latitudes. Young plants must develop a stable frost hardiness in the first year. In the year of planting, a light winter protection is therefore advisable. If you cover the soil with leaves and brushwood, severe frost cannot harm the root ball. Adult garden marshmallow is hardy to -20 degrees Celsius in a sunny to partially shaded and wind-protected location. Of course, this does not apply to cultivation in pots. As a shrub or standard plant in a pot, garden marshmallow is dependent on a warm protective cover made of foil or fleece.

    We would like to plant the 'Marina' variety of garden hibiscus as a 4 meter long hedge with a privacy function and a height of at least 150 centimetres. What should be considered when planting and cutting?

    Vase-shaped growth is characteristic of garden hibiscus. The shrubs thrive much narrower in the lower area than in the crown area.You should therefore calculate a width of at least 100 centimeters as a hedge. Furthermore, hibiscus only sprout in the course of April and May, so that it can offer privacy from June at the earliest. A planting distance of 60 to 80 centimeters is ideal for a dense hedge to form. A planting and growth pruning ensures good branching in the lower area. Without regular pruning in late winter or early spring, garden hibiscus can gradually bare and only remain leafy in the upper area. It is important to note that you do not cut hibiscus bushes from the beginning of July, as this is when the flower buds are created.

    Can I transplant my 10 year old garden marshmallow? If yes, when is the best time?

    The time window for a change of location is open from mid-October to the end of March. Please wait for the leaves to fall before transplanting your garden hibiscus. Cut out the ball in a radius that corresponds to the circumference of the bush. Never add fertilizer. Fertilization is only done between the end of March and the end of July. To compensate for the lost root volume, cut back the shoots by half to two-thirds. The procedure is usually successful within the first five years of storage. With a 10-year-old hibiscus there is a risk that it will no longer grow. The recommended pruning and regular watering reduce the risk.

    Garden hibiscus with frost damage - what to do?

    A severe winter sometimes leaves frozen shoots on garden hibiscus. This is no cause for alarm. The ornamental tree does not bud for this year's growth and summer flowering until spring. In February/March, cut frozen shoots back into healthy wood. Healthy wood can be seen by scraping off some bark tissue. Frosty temperatures have not done any damage where lush green tissue appears. Place the scissors there at a short distance from an outward-facing eye.

    My garden hibiscus does not open its flowers - what to do?

    When a garden hibiscus experiences heat stress, it keeps its flowers under wraps. It is beneficial if you cool the soil a little by spreading a layer of bark mulch. At the same time, form a casting ring so that the irrigation water does not run off to the side, but rather seeps into the deeper layers of the earth at the root ball. Apply a phosphorous fertilizer to get flowering going. Organic berry fertilizer, for example, is well suited. (3.94 €)

    Is garden marshmallow suitable for cultivation in a bucket? If so, how big should the pot be at least?

    Keeping a bucket is no problem for a garden hibiscus. If the supply of water and nutrients is ensured, the flowering shrub will develop magnificently. The primary requirements are a sunny to semi-shady location and loose, permeable and nutrient-rich potting soil. The pot size depends on the purchased young plant. A suitable pot should be 10 to 15 centimeters larger on both sides than the growing container.

    The 3 most common cutting mistakes

    Failure of the longed-for hibiscus blossom, premature senescence and a puny standard are the result of typical pruning errors. So that your garden hibiscus is spared from these types of damage, the following table lists the three most common sins in pruning and gives tips for prudent prevention:

    cutting error damage picture prevention
    cut at the wrong time Failure of the flowering period, dramatic frost damage, total failure cut in February
    never thinned or cropped Premature decrease in the willingness to bloom, impenetrable undergrowth Thin out and cut back hard every year in late winter
    Trunk tip cut off too early too small standard Do not cut off the top bud too early

    tips

    Garden hibiscus is used in the natural garden unfilled flowers given a box seat. Varieties with lavishly filled flowers are a floral sham for hard-working bees, bumblebees and butterflies. Stamens turn into pure display leaves and no longer produce valuable pollen. The numerous petals become an insurmountable barrier for insects on the way to nectar-producing flower organs, unless these are already atrophied. Garden marshmallow with simple shell flowers, on the other hand, offers insects a richly laid table.

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Vegetable garden