Can I plant them directly in the ground..newbie!

Hi, I love hibiscus but have always kept them in pots, then cut them way back and bring them inside. I didn't know I could plant directly in flower bed.
How do I know which ones will survive the winter?
I guess I just need to know everything, don't I

I am also in Zone 8. If I were you I would plant them in the ground but dig them up before the first freeze which in my zone, is sometime in November. Don't take the chance of losing your hibs (which you will lose if you leave them in the ground). If you don't want to go through digging them up just leave them in pots. Good luck

I agree with C, although they might be root hardy they will lose all their leaves and it takes so long for them to come back in the spring. If you bring them into the house or garage they will also lose a lot of leaves but if they can keep even a few they will have the ability to start growing (photosynthesizing) more quickly in the spring.

C, did you go to Columbia College?

I would definitely bring them in--as ardesia said even if they do survive the winter, they take forever to come back in the spring if you've left them out in the cold (even here in 9b, mine do much better if I put them in a greenhouse for the winter). And I think in 8a there's a good chance they could get killed completely too if you get some cold weather. We had a week last year where nighttime temps got down in the ~20 degree range, and that killed the one hibiscus that I'd left outdoors (I gave it plenty of time to try and come back, and it never did)

I had a really pretty one that I brought inside, but I cut it way back.
It's growing new leaves and seems to be ok. Did I mess it up?

If it's growing new leaves it sounds like it's happy. If you scroll down the page a bit, there have been a couple threads about pruning in the not too distant past, you might look for those so you can see how/when you're supposed to prune them. But I really don't think you have much to worry about if they're giving you new growth.

Lorriane - unless you have gotton a hold of some hardy hibiscus that can survive winters you'd better take the advise of these folks. I live in zone 6 and bring mine in before the first freez too - I plant them during the summer to give them that extra growing boost they need & am rewarded throughout the winter months with lovely blooms! (see Amazon Queen just taken a few days ago - when temps outside was in the 30s)

I'm finding myself confused a lot this morning ☺

Don't you guys have garden hibiscus? The kind you buy at a Nursery, made to be planted out in the yard?
Like this one in PlantFiles
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/982/

Yes, some people do have the hardy ones too. I think there are probably more of us growing the tropical ones, that's why sometimes the forum seems to be dominated by those, but if you scroll through the list of posts you'll see some on the hardier hibiscus varieties. Especially in the winter though there's not too much about the hardy ones since they've all gone to sleep for the winter--if you have the tropicals in conditions that make them happy they'll keep blooming all year long, that's why pretty much everything recently has been tropicals.

Just saw the thread as a recent topic on my home page. I didn't check out any other threads.

I'm glad you think it will be ok. It bloomed until Nov and I got scared and brought it inside. Before the first freeze of course

Ardesia: I actually went to college in New York; however, did you mean Columbus College? My husband went to Columbus College.

No, Columbia College is a woman's college in Columbia, SC. It is actually quite a good school, their graduates really stand out and the students are known as "C square" girls.

Oh, that's cute. My first name and last name begin with C. Hence the C_Squared name on here. Is Columbia College one of the 7 sisters?

No, just a small school in SC but they are known for turning out lots of Dr.s, lawyers and generally very successful young women.