You can cut the old ones back to ground level. New growth will come up new. They will start when weather warms.

Thanks!

Sorry to cut in here. But I'm worried about my Kopper King. I planted it last summer, and it has not shown up yet this year. Any chance it still will? I'm in the western Chicago suburbs.

Just be patient! My hardy hibicus are always later than other perennials to come up and, if your spring has been a cold one like ours, I'd say your's should be up soon, since they're just comming up in my garden now. If your plant is still alive you can give a slight tug to the old stems and it shouldn't move much, but if it's dead the whole thing along with the rotting roots will lift easily out. If it feels firmly in the ground it's still alive.

Thanks, I'll try that with the old stems. I sure hope it's okay, since I payed more for this than most perennials.

i have the same situation w/my dinner plate hib. I keep looking everyday, but it's still chilly here at the jersey shore.

All of my hardy hibiscus (texas star, old yella, turn of the century, lord baltimore, and a few others) have been up for about a month now. I thought I lost my Kopper king, but it just started popping up a few days ago. Guess this one gets a late start.

Don't be alarmed if your hardy hibiscus do not come up until in June. Mind are up but they are planted against a south wall where the sun shines in ----a lot of it depends on the Spring---they won't come up in an open area until the ground gets warm and the nights are not cold. But be aware that there are two kinds of hibiscus---the hardy and the Hawaiian which cannot take the cold and must be kept in the home or a greenhouse. I do not plant the tropical variety because they get white fly in the home or greenhouse. I am sure one can spray but I would rather not use the spray in my house.

Birdinthepalm, ...an update. I did tug on the stem when you suggested it, and found it to be well rooted. So I patiently waited, and just noticed today that a shoot is up. So now I know not to expect it before the end of May. I am so excited about this and can't wait to see how it progresses. This will be the first year in bloom (hopefully.)

Hi, Iowarosie

I saw your note about white fly problems.

While Mallows, or "hardy hibiscus" are known to attract white flies, the tropical varieties (H. rosa sinensis) are not as prone to have them. In fact in most cases where my tropicals have had white fly problems, it was because the critters were attracted first to nearby hardy hibiscus.

There are currently nearly 8,000 registered varieties of tropical hibiscus in the American Hibiscus Society's nomenclature database.

I have a few hundred of those varieties, and add more whenever I can. I also have a few varieties of hardy hibiscus.

Regards,

Rick (HibRick)

Here is a link that might be useful: Lone Star Chapter, American Hibiscus Society