I live in Halifax, NS - Canada. The winters here are very cold and we get a lot of snow during the winter months. I have two Hibiscus plants that I have taken from the outdoors and moved into my garage that is not heated. The only light that the plants receive is light from the light switch. Over the last week the leaves have become very dry and have wilted(soil is moist). I am not sure if the plant is still alive. I was not planning on taking the plants indoors because of the bugs. Have I killed my plants or will they come back in the spring?
Hi James, I assume you are talking about tropical hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis). I don't think it will survive a winter in an unheated garage. There are hardy species of hibiscus, if you have one of those it could be left in the ground. Here is a link to winter care for tropical hibiscus.
It depends on what kind of Hibiscus you have. I put mine in the basement at the beginning of every winter. The leaves turn brown and fall off. I do not water all winter, they do look dead, but around March I start watering them and out comes the new leaves. I would hang on to them, water with sunlight and see what they do.
Your treatment of Hibiscus plants is quite interesting, that is, Hibiscus plants that will live throughout winter without light and water! Are they by any chance, as artificial as the lighting? I guess I just don't know that much about these plants but that is what I would consider plant torment and I could never do that. Anyway, I bring our Hibiscus plants in each winter from the terrace (my husband is the backyard & front yard gardener and I’m the inside gardener). I have set up an artificially lighted area for the plants (and the lights give off plenty of heat) where they continue to bloom all winter long (I do cut back on the nutrient mix though). As soon as there is a hint of spring in the air, I prune them considerably. When I am sure there is 'no more snow' I put them back out on the terrace. My plants continue to flourish and bloom and I swear some of those flowers are getting bigger! But, enough of that. About bugs: Just before bringing them back into the house (winter), I spray with diluted Ortho (liquid of course) once every 2 to 3 days - both plants and soil. About one week later (after 2 or 3 sprayings), I bring them in. No bugs and the plants are healthy. Now I am going one step further: this winter I will convert most of them (well, maybe just half) to Hydroculture - expanded clay medium. My orchids have done nicely (so many flowers and so fragrant!) with expanded clay for 8+ years. I have recently converted a ficus, passion flower, umbrella and a couple other plants (sorry, I'm not a 'green thumb' so don't know all the plant names) to Hydroculture and so far (with my fingers crossed) they continue to flourish. That's it. Thank you for allowing me to speak my piece. Happy gardening (inside and out) to you all!
Has anyone else tried not watering their hibiscus over winter and then had great results like CandM? I found a hibiscus that looks quite bad and the soil was all dried out. I was wondering if I could revive it because it is going to be spring soon, and CandM said that all winter their plants go without water. Thanks.
I, too, have not watered my Hibiscus rosa-sinensis during the winter (and let it drop all it's leaves) - and every spring it comes back vibrantly. Tons of flowers. I've it for 10 years now. It's 5 feet tall and 3 ft across :-))
