Pruning

I have this problem where I just can't bring myself to trim the buds off when I prune. The plants get all lopsided as I prune the branches as they stop blooming.

This one just keeps blooming.

Of course, it's not just the hibiscus that I have this problem with.

(4 year old variegated poinsettia)

I became a Hibiscus addict in 2008 :o) , and I can identify with the difficulty of prunning Hibiscus stems that have buds/blooms on them. One of my Hibs has already outgrown the little conservatory I have dedicated to growing Hibs--I have to grow Hibiscus indoors since VA winters, unlike Florida and CA, are too cold. The tallest Hib (the one in the back) has so many buds, I am reluctant to cut it. I have pruned all of my Hibs, except for the tallest one with the numerous buds--I think I'll wait until mid-April for that one since it's the only that blooms profusely (Fantasy Charm). The one in the front is Tsunami - it bloomed for the first time today!

Snug, :o)

Tsunami is the orange bloom on the left on top of the conservatory-- the tall Hib (Fantasy Charm) is the one with all the buds!

Tsunami has a very pretty bloom. I'm not familiar with Fantasy Charm. How many hibiscus to you keep in there?

I tend to prune all of my woody tropicals in the spring, assuming they are showing signs of robust new growth. The plants in the above photos are all in windows at work, so are kept constantly maintained. Since the photo was taken two weeks ago the hibiscus (Susan Schlueter, one of my all time favorites) has been in constant bloom and all of the bracts on the pruned side of the poinsettia have flushed with color, so they seem to be happy.