A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Hibiscus outdoors zone 7a?

I was wondering if hibiscus would over winter outside here in Virginia. Or would I need to keep it in a pot? My apartment is very small. 525 Sq ft.

tkhooper: You did not say what kind of Hibiscus you have. If it is Hardy it may well over winter outside. I left my hardies and Texas Stars outside all winter we had a very mild winter here I am in zone 7 in North Texas (DFW)area. All my Tropicals I have on shelves inside. Two shelveas covers my kitchen bay windows. Have a spare bedroom full of Hibiscus seedlings as well as other plants. All mine inside have done well. Hope this helps.
Jimmy

Sorry JV;

I don't have one yet, but over in easy to grow someone mentioned them as an easy plant to grow so I was thinking maybe? But some winters we can get up to a foot of snow. Thankyou for mentioning there are different types I wouldn't have thought of that. Do you think there is one that could survive here? The soil has alot of clay in it and the area gets alot more afternoon sun than morning. The building shades it in the early daylight hours. Would I be able to buy seeds for them somewhere on the web if they would grow outside here? And would it be best if I started them inside? And if so what size should they be when I move them outdoors, and what size pot should I start them in?

Boy I sure do ask alot of questions.

TK,
Do you know what kind it is??

I also have a hibiscus, it over winters
up here in zone 5...

But there are several varieties of hibiscus...
3 types in general and each does it's own
type of thing???

The 1st on is a tropical hibiscus, THAT WON'T BE HARDY for you, I don't believe, those are like zone 10~12.. But they can be grown in a pot or container for the summer, and then brought inside for the winter. You can cut or prune thru it's growing time, *like a dead limb or a flower* during the growing time, but pruned hard early next spring before you take it back outside for the summer.

The 2nd is perennial hibiscus, with it’s large dinner plate sized flowers, ***this is the kind I have*** produced mid summer and late into the falltime. This kind of hibiscus for me here, dies completely back into the ground, I take the dead canes away in the spring, and wait, it takes a while up here to re~emerge from the ground.
**The stems are awesome to compost, they are large, dead brown material you need and have a hollow center great for keeping air circulation at the bottom of piles when starting them..
*I just had to throw that in there, the composter that I am..

The 3rd hibiscus is a woody~flowering shrub, known as ‘rose of Sharon’. ***I have this one too, and it over winters outside like a regular tree or shrub would...
This blooms for a good portion of the summer and pruned in the early spring, as the flowers are produced on the new growth.

Does that help narrow it down a bit for you???

Weezie

YES

You are spot on as usual Weezie. I thought the hibiscus looked alot like a rose of sharon my parents had when I was a kid. That one was purple. And it over wintered in Washington State.

Thankyou Weezie