I purchased 3 "hardy hibiscus'" last year and 2 came back. I was warned that with our climate here, they take forever to start to grow as they die back almost 100%. Well, help? This is what I have now.. this picture was taken in the beginning of July, but it hasn't done anything since! I got these 3 because they were supposed to be the swamp mallow that can tolerate swampy conditions.... :(
Help?
Here's the other plant. Looks even worse!
i am new to hibs myself but notice the mulch around them. were they covered with the mulch? at the beginning of the growing season need to move the mulch away about handwidth to let plant breathe and grow. i dont like mulch too much as it does happer a plant from growing. always move mine away.
Hi skiekitty, would like to know, have you fertilized it and if so what fertilizer did you use, I ask you this since I notice you have other flowering plants around it, need a little more info of how you are taking care of them so we can help you.
Wilfred
good to see you over here! Wondering about the dead stalks laying around the plant. Were they infested with something or do you know what could of happened to them?
Davis - (hmm.. didn't I just see you in Roses? :) ) The dead stalks is from the previous year. This type of "rose mallow" http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/40925/ Hibiscus moscheutos, I was told by the garden center, would die back to the ground 100% and then come back up from nothing, which it did, if it had enough moisture. This part of my yard is 100% soggy all the time. It's downhill from my neighbor, so every time he waters, I get 2" of standing water right here (which is why I put these here.. nothing else seemed to want to grow). In the first picture, you see a stick with some bulby-looking things on it.. that's an aspen branch that has this:
What are those large round lumps on the twigs of my Aspens?
Those lumps are "galls" or swelling of the plant tissue caused by the Aspen Twig Gall Fly after it deposits its eggs into your aspen twig in early spring. The galls are ugly but they do not harm the tree and there really is no effective control. We chalk this one up to L.W.A.A. (Life With An Aspen).
(I hate aspens, they have the shortest lifespan, but I can't afford to get mine taken out right now as it's just too HUGE.. it's about 35' tall.)
WQP - Fertilized this spring with MiracleGro BloomBooster twice (once in May, then again in June). What's around it is just daylillies to the left (you can see them in the pic) and to the right, about 4' away, is a Maltese Cross, then a pink Beebalm, then a Concord Grape Spiderwort, then an Oranges & Lemons rose. The attached picture kinda helps to see the layout a little better as you can see the Spiderwort, then the Beebalm, then the Maltese Cross. To the left of the Maltese Cross in the puddle of water you can see the stem sticking up with the tag in front of it.
Imzadi - You're a lucky person as you're in zone 8. In my zone (zone 5), we have fluxes from 20 degrees one night to upper 60s in the day, then that night it can go down to -15, then stay at 0 degrees for a few days, then zoom back up into the 60s again. Everything has to be mulched here for 2 reasons: cold protection and moisture protection. Winter watering is a mandatory thing here if you want to live. Most of my roses have to be covered in about a foot of mulch (it's actually suggested that for climbers to actually dig them up & pot them indoors over the winter). There was only about a dusting of mulch left after the spring thaw, so they were able to breathe OK.
Hi skiekitty, I was imagining that you used a high phosphorus fertilizer on them, that's why I asked, I'm not an expert on hardy hibiscus but I think you have to change the MG Bloom Booster fertilizer (10-50-10) to MG all Purpose fertilizer ( 24-8-16 ), high phosphorus fertilizer will kill your hib. Hibs are not like other flowering plant that thrive on high phosphorus fertilizers, they prefer high potash instead, at least the tropical hibs do and I imagine its the same with hardy hibs. Hope somebody else with more experience with hardy hibs will jump in and help you more on this matter.
Wilfred
Or, maybe the problem is the monkey? Perhaps hibiscus is his favorite treat :-)
Now were did the monkey come from, LOL!
Wilfred
Stuffed animal in the last photo...come on Wilfred, keep up! :-) Where is amorecuore when I need him?
ooh, sorry.. that's my dogs' monkey. My dogs, Sebastian & Wolfgang, go crazy for the long-armed stuffed animals, so when I find them at garage sales for like a quarter, I always buy them. Please excuse the background.. we were in the process of rearranging this room. Sebastian is the little one on the left, Wolfgang is the golden.
I'll have to try the other kind of fertilizer.. I didn't do anything with my Althea hibiscus in the back and I think it's getting ready to blossom finally.
LOL no need to apologize, many extraneous objects show up in posted pictures :-)
If ever anyone doubted that dogs can smile...all they have to do is view your doggie pic for proof! Very cute!
Love your dogs skiekitty, there so lovable, OMG, I didn't notice that little monkey in the photo, it must have had grab ed my leg or something, LOL!
I think I need glasses, I thought it was a piece of wood, now how the heck did I miss it, Dee I think the crocodile ate Jon, Robert and a few others, LOL!, haven't seen them post anything lately, miss them on the forum. Dee, I guess I got strike one.
BTW, hope that monkey doesn't look like me, must be ugly that why its facing the ground.
Wilfred
Jaws (Jon's pet gator) would have a field day with the monk. What about Pete & Repeat, wonder what they've been up to since Jon is gone. Mischief no doubt, skiekitty you need to take monk inside before Jaws & company go after him. Beautiful babies you have skiekitty, one looks so gentle & the other perhaps a bit rowdy?
don't have an answer for your hib question, did you google it?
As far as alligators go, here is a horrendously vicious picture that shows the damage a pack of hungry canines can do to a single alligator.
Click, if you dare.
How adorable is that, I love those savage canines! Too cute, thanks for joining in the fun skiekitty!
Such cute four legged babies; just love your dogs! What a smile on the golden.
I agree with Wilfred. I think all hibbies, hardy or hybrid, need the regular MG not the bloombooster.
Jon was visiting his parents and just got back not too long ago. I'm sure he'll show up soon.
Patty
Who let the dogs out, who...who...who! No wonder I'm not looking my best al the time, someone is always leaving the dog house doors opened.
Somebody help! get this adorable cute little savage wild dogs of me!
Here I come to save the day! OOOPS! Whom I kidding, they'll probably eat me in one bit. Better jump back before they see me.
Veeeery interesting, the monkey was smart enough to get the heck out on time, I think I'll let my cousin deal with thous gorgeous carnivore by himself, I'm like the monkey, every man, pardon me, mean lizard for him self, runnnn!
This is Tink who is on a towel in the drawer of my computer table any time I am on the computer.. Also call her lizard lips as she has such a long tongue & no lips. The light attacks bugs, which bring out my family of geckos on the outside screen every night. Fun to watch them catch their dinner. We would love to have a monkey.
Well, my dogs' are such big mean vicious evil creatures, as you can see from this pic.
(thanks about the MG BB.. next time, I'll just use the regular MG)
Here is Lexie with "Prince Phillip"(what she named him) the night before he went to his new mommy in PA
This message was edited Aug 27, 2009 12:06 PM
Here is Lexie with "Prince Phillip"(what she named him) the night before he went to his new mommy in PA
sorry posted 2 times
This message was edited Aug 27, 2009 12:08 PM
Here she is with Tinkerbell this was her favorite puppy, we lost her last year when we was 11 weeks old.
What was wrong with Tinkerbell that she passed away @ 11weeks of age? Wow.. poor thing.. puppymill puppy?
Here is Sebastian
This message was edited Aug 27, 2009 12:40 PM
STPLong - Oh my.. here's MY Sebastian. Wanna trade?
No she was one of our puppies, when Krystal has a litter, Lexie picks one puppy out and claims it, she holds them them day 1, she names them, she is acts like the mommmy, she does put them back so they can be feed, and sleep. We took Tinkerbell everywhere we went before she had all of her shots. which we shouldn't have done, when we took her to the vet to be checked out when she started acting funny, they gave her medicine for worms, and she got worse, our other puppy Sebastian started getting sick so when we took him to the vet we asked them to test for parvo, and that is what he had, he made it but Tinkerbell it was to late we couldn't save her. Lexie was really heart broken.
here she is holding her when Tinkerbell was only a few weeks old and Krystal (the mommy) is right beside her waiting for her to put her back so she can feed her
This message was edited Aug 27, 2009 12:41 PM
This message was edited Aug 27, 2009 12:41 PM
All these pictures of dogs are making me miss my baby. I had to put my 16 year old shih tzu down last May and haven't gotten another one YET, but I will eventually. Dogs are just so sweet!
STPLong - Ah, now I understand. Just me, though, I have always adopted a dog from a shelter and never go through a breeder.
We understand, we aren't having any more puppies, our first litter was planned, and we didn't know that she would go into heat so soon after having a litter. We learned the hard way. Now we don't want any more puppies. It is to hard to find them good homes.
This is Taz the dad, we are going to try and find him a home. He is a really good dog, he needs alot of attention and with 3 dogs it is hard for him to get what he needs.
This in my Tinkerbelle (Tink) on the left & Tricki Woo on the right. Both from people who did not treat them good. I'm a sucker for orphans! Have had Tink 2 years & Tricki for 9 years. Not sure of their birthdates but both were puppies when I got them. So sorry to hear about Lexie loosing her Tinkerbell.
It's tough when we lose one of our furry children. At any age!
Judy
skiekitty Hi neighbor. I live in Wyoming in one zone colder than yours. Love the photos of your "family". So cute.
Back to the subject of hardy Hibiscus. First, I have no idea what the problem is with your plant. I started H. moscheutos "Disco Bell' from seeds purchased from Parks Seeds 3 years ago. It bloomed for the first time this season. It was first planted where it didn't get much sun. Weeds grew and I forgot about it. I had the shade tree cut down where it was growing and dug up to make a border there. That's when I found it this spring. I potted it up. No growth could be seen. The roots were healthy so it wasn't dead. I had to make a place for it along my fence, hence the reason why I potted up first. I left the pot outside. The weather was still cold. This was in late April. Once the weather turned warm, it sprouted branches. I finished the site and planted it in the ground in early June. As the weather warmed it really grew, then set buds.
I am surprised that it even survived since it received no care at all and was overgrown with weeds. It has developed several branches and is now 2 ft tall. The blooms are 7" across. A beauty. In its new spot, I mulch with grass clipping. It gets watering once a week along with my other plants. I have read that they don't like constant moisture and mine certainly don't get that. It does die down to the ground and even a light frost will affect it, unlike other perennials. It is slow waking in the spring and waitsf for warm weather before growth appears. Sure is worth the wait.
Below is Hibiscus 'Disco Bell' Photo taken September 20, 09, a few days before out first frost.
