I got a hibiscus in a pot growing outside. Do I need to bring it in for the winter or can it stay outside. Didn't find out until today what it was. Very beautiful red flower. Would hate to kill it. I live in Maryland,if that is any help. Came in a pot. Pot size is 12 inches wide and about 8 inches deep. One friend to transplant it into the ground and another friend said to bring it indoors. Need help. Never had a Hibiscus before. All help will be appriciated. Thanks in advance.
Hibiscus Here is a picture of the hibiscus I have in the pot it came in. Do I need to plant it in the ground for the winters here in Maryland? Do I need to bring it indoors? I have never had a hibiscus before ,so I how nothing about them.
What you have is a tropical hibiscus. It will die if the roots go below freezing. The limbs will die back with just experiencing frost. For your location, you will want to bring it in before frost.
Hello rckoep, That is a tropical hibiscus. You will need to bring it indoors for the winter and grow it as a houseplant. You will want to spray the plant off with water and possibly treat for bugs - aphids, mites and other critters are very likely to come inside with the plant. Give it the brightest spot you can. It may very likely drop a lot of leaves when you bring it in. I have merged your posts and moved them to the Hibiscus forum. You will find a lot of posts on tropical hibiscus and winter care here. There is a Search this Forum button on the right end of the second green bar from the top of the page. You can use this to find specific posts. These are beautiful plants, but not the easiest thing to grow. Keep warm, in bright light, evenly moist (never soaking wet, never allow to dry out) and give dilute fertilizer that is low in phosphorus, during the growth period. Bloom food is high in phosphorus and many people make the mistake of giving it to hibiscus thinking to improve blooming. Do be very alert to pests.
I have had great success with bringing hibiscus in before the first frost. They do want bright light. I a south window is not avable I have had success with florasent light above the plant left on 24/7. I have had them have flowers even as late as Feb.. They do want the water. Thay will drop leaves when you bring them but not all at once and new ones will grow back. I find as it gets closer to Spring the brances sometimes get sparch of leaves and I find it helps to cut the branches back. When you put the plant back out next Spring it may loose all the leaves but it will recover.
