Beginner Gardening: A few questions about my "Lord Baltimore" Hibiscus, 0 by kamelonious

kamelonious wrote:
Hi there everyone,

I've just run into this amazing website today and decided this looked like a good place to put my roots down for my future in gardening.

This summer, my girlfriend and I went to an amazing botanical garden named Shangri'La in Orange, TX and was so inspired by the beauty that I have begun gardening almost as soon as we got back from the trip.

I now have an "incense" passion vine, purple coneflowers and a recent addition is my "Lord Baltimore" hibiscus. I realize that this was a late time in the season to buy a hibiscus, but have a few questions so that I can place myself inside of the relative "timeline" for this plant I've seen described around the internet.

The day I bought the hibiscus, there were still three flower buds coming along. There were also a few seedpods that had already turned brown and had barely opened, so I went ahead and harvested the seeds from them. Now there are still a few seedpods that are still greenish and obviously haven't made it completely through the process, but I am excited that I will have so many opportunities to try a few more in the spring next year.

I have a few questions about the near future of this hibiscus though:

Recently, the bottom two feet or so of the foliage has started to turn a bit yellow. I have watered it very well, especially considering the 91F weather we have been having, so I don't know that the problem lies there. Am I just nearing the very end of the growing cycle and this is the plant dying down for winter?

I am also considering bringing this hibiscus inside my house for the winter, but am worried because my girlfriend and I have a cat in the house. I can't seem to find a clear answer as to whether hibiscus (in general) are toxic to cats, and furthermore if the "Lord Baltimore" hibiscus variation is toxic either. Even the ASPCA's website doesn't seem to give a clear answer... Could someone here possibly give me a straight answer as to whether this would be a bad idea?

Thank you for any replies! I really appreciate any expertise as I am so new to gardening!