Question about Hardy Hibiscus

I have noticed most hardy hibiscus I've planted from purchases have not had as many main stems return the following years. Is there something I am doing wrong? I bought them locally so I don't think it is a hardiness issue.

I'll start by saying that I don't grow these so I don't know what's normal for them. How old are they? If they've just been in the ground a couple years it could be that they're still getting going and once they do then you'll get more stems. But if it's been in the ground for longer than that then it should be well established, and in that case it could be that since you're towards the colder end of its hardiness range, it may not come back as robustly for you as it would in a warmer zone. You might try piling a bit more mulch over it next winter and see if that helps.

Thank you Ecrane. None of them are very old. One was planted in 2006 but 3 were planted last year so this is their first year returning. I notice out of all the ones I am growing the Moy Grande seems to have come back the most vigorous, so maybe it colerates cold better.

Was Moy Grande the one you planted in 2006? That could be the difference rather than anything to do with hardiness. Or it got its roots going better than the others, I wouldn't judge them until they've been in the ground a couple more years. There's a rule of thumb for perennials "first year they sleep, 2nd year they creep, 3rd year they leap". So I'd be patient for another year or two, chances are you'll see all of them coming back more vigorously.

The one that has been here longest is a Fantasia. Last year it did so horrible that I dug it up and transplanted it while it was flowering! So now that I think about that it might as well be new! Even though I thought I may have killed it because it went dormant - It has come back much better this year. I had moved it because it wasn't in enough sun before - but when I planted it I had no where else to put it. The other one that only grew back two stems that had 3 last year is a Lord Baltimore. This and the MOy Grande and a white one that I can't remember of the top of my head are in a lot of sun. However I have naturally dryish sandy soil and had amended it with compost and loam from a landscaping company. So that may be an issue too. Would mulching them with compost in winter help or can I only use hay or starw?

Oh and I think I should mention they are planted right next to large boulders that surround a gunite pool. I asked someone at a garden center if the gunite would change what could be planted near it and she said it is possible thatit could make the soil there more alkaline. Is that true?

I don't think putting more mulch over them for the winter would hurt them, but I don't know if it'll change anything--the reason I had mentioned mulch earlier was if these plants were ones that had been in the ground for a number of years, then I thought maybe your winters were a bit hard on them. But since they haven't been in the ground that long I think it's just that they're in those first couple years where things go a bit slow. As far as the gunite, I don't know what would happen with it. I know concrete can leach lime into the soil and increase the pH slightly so maybe gunite could do the same thing. If you're worried about it, check and see what your soil pH is. But if it was high enough that your plants were having problems with it you probably would have noticed some symptoms like chlorotic leaves (most of the leaf looks yellow but the veins are green).

OKay I'll watch for the chloratic leaves. As of now they have no signs but the gunite was just done this spring so it hasn't had much time to leach. It may be a problem down the road so I'm glad to know what to look for. Thank you for the help ecrane! : )

You might think about testing your soil pH now so you know what you're starting with. If it's already on the high side then you know you definitely need to watch out and track it over time, but if it's slightly acidic now it probably won't change enough to be a problem. Usually the only plants you need to worry about with concrete are the acid lovers like azaleas and rhododendrons or hydrangeas that you want to bloom blue, most other plants it wouldn't change the pH enough to matter and I don't think gunite would be any worse than concrete.

I think gunite acts the same as concrete as well. I have tested my yard before and it was a 6.5 so on the slightly acidic side. I haven't tested this area since the pool was installed so maybe I should. The entire yard was dug up and soil that was 8ft. down could have ended up on top! Between having trees removed and the stumps dug and the pool dug and then redug due to finding previously buried stumps. etc etc lol Who knows what it is now. : )

Meredith, I have the same problem as you.
I have a dark red hibiscus that a friend gave me a start of and hers is a huge dark red multi stemed in full sun in the middle of a farm field.
Mine has been in the ground for years now and only has one stem.
I am guessing my problem is sunlight, mine only gets sun until about noon.

Not far from the dark red hibiscus I have a light pink hibiscus and it only gets one stem. When I planted the light pink I took a start and put it on the west side of my house (gets sun from 1pm on and heat) and it is multi stemmed and beautiful. That's why I think mine is sun and heat problem or I guess it could be the ones with one stem are close to a maple tree and it is sucking all the moisture and nutrients out of the ground.

Anyway as soon as I can figure out when to transplant them I am moving both of my single stem hibiscus to full sun and away from the trees.

happgarden - I think we have similar problems! If you have a sunnier spot I would move it there when it's done for the season. I am definitely noticing the one I moved is performing much better even though it is probably only getting 2 hours more of sun a day. I think with these plants every little bit helps. Even though mine aren't close to trees like your, I think I have a problem with my sandy soil. I've heard compost will just work it's way deep down in the soil when it's sandy, where it will be no use for the plants. So I am planning on adding lots of good compost around the base every year. I fertilized them recently and I think that, plus all the rain we've had recently, have helped the stems that are growing, become more vigorous.