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overwintering

Batya (and others who may be interested):

Regarding your question about overwintering hibiscus in the big windows
of my former home:

I pruned the plants and searched for bugs, diseases, before bringing
them indoors for winter. I removed about 2 inches of soil from the top
and replaced with fresh. Pruning was not extensive, only enough to
remove problem branches and to make it look good for indoors (including
creating a bit smaller plant so there would be more room indoors).

I didn't fertilize until March. I watered enough to keep the plants
growing, but didn't water them like they were outdoors. They bloomed on
and off throughout the winter, enjoying sun in south-facing windows.

Now, my hibiscus are relegated to the basement workshop where I have
light stands for houseplants, mainly begonias, African violets (and a
few other gesneriads), cacti, pothos, ivy. (Also use the light stands in
early spring for starting vegetable and perennial seeds.) The hibiscus
are not under lights; the only light they receive is what bounces off
the stands and from 2 small windows facing north and east.

The hibiscus are pruned hard (they won't bloom anyway under present
conditions, and I miss their winter flowers). They are not fertilized.
They are watered just enough to keep them from shriveling. This
treatment has worked for the plants greened up well when they went
outdoors in May and have bloomed well throughout summer. They're still
blooming, and I hate to take them inside and trim them back.

Very few people grow tropical hibiscus around here; at least I have
found only 2 that do.

John G. Adney
Marion, Iowa (east-central Iowa, on the line of zones 4-5)
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