Keeping Hibiscus dormant for the Winter???

Hi, Everyone,

My neighbor has about 4 pots of Tropical Hibiscus. The usual kind.
Now that cold weather is imminent, he does not know what to do with them.
Can he just take them into his basement (very limited light) and let them go dormant? There is no other option.

Should he cut them back now? In the Spring? Will they survive?

He has also been "playing around" and has braided the stems in all these pots--like they do with Ficus trees.
Can you tell me if that will work on a Hibiscus? I can't imagine WHY he did it, but he always likes to play around with his trees ans tree-like plants.

Please send me any advice on this--just keep in mind that I am NOT the one needing to do this.

Thanks, Gita

I've seen braided hibiscus before, so he's not the first one to think of it. I don't know if it's the best thing for the plant or not, but it's been done.

I'll let someone from a colder climate help you out on the dormancy thing, I don't have any experience that would help.

For your neighbor......

If they are going to be in the basement, why not put a little light on them and keep some moisture in the pots instead of taking a chance on losing them by letting them go dormant? If there is a little natural light in the basement, they will probably try to grow anyway. If I had plants with braided trunks, I wouldn't want to lose them. One shop light on a timer for a few hours a day will keep them going, I'm pretty sure. I won't take a chance with mine, letting them go dormant. Mainly because if they would come out of dormancy, how long would it take? I don't want to spend half the summer waking them up. I'm not cutting mine back until spring. JMO.