My general pruning rule is that anything that gets in my way along paths or other access routes gets chopped off! Other than that, the key things in my pruning approach are (1) knowing whether it blooms on new wood or old wood and (2) what shape I want the shrub to be.

Old wood bloomers get pruned after they finish blooming this year so I minimize cutting off next year’s flower buds. New wood bloomers get pruned in spring to give them time to produce flowerbuds this year. Generally speaking spring bloomers bloom on old wood and late summer and fall bloomers are new wood bloomers. It’s only early summer bloomers that need research re which category they fit into…

I grow a lot of shrubs in a tree form so I prune out a lot of the thin stems and growth near the base of the stems I keep, leaving a few larger stems with minimal side growth from the lowest 12 -18”. That makes it easier to plant companion perennials under the shrubs.

My pruning approach is quite simple and might not always fit ‘rules’ but I generally like the outcome and it is easy to change the specifics as the plant ages and/or you get to know it better or your needs change as the garden matures and other plants are added etc.

Flexibility and experimenting are always relevant IMO:-)

cut it not one foot .. cut it TO ONE FOOT..

i mean really.. if you are going to do it.. then just do it...

two things might happen.. i will sprout back with a vengeance with no insult to the root mass..

orrrrrrr.....

you will kill it.. and who cares.. its a general PIA ..so what...

and i doubt you will kill it...

why do you keep giving an aggressive growing plant repeated haircuts.. go full sargent carter.. or get rid of it...

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=sargent+carter+haircut&t=ffab&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

I did use to have a Rose of Sharon but, like ken says, it was too agressive - especially re seeding around - so I removed it. I also have quite a few hardy hibiscuses - which I like. The flowers on the hardy hibiscuses are much bigger than on the Rose of Sharon and it is easier to control seeding by deadheading/removing the very visible seed capsules after the flowers fade. Most of the ones I grow are also shorter than RoS (although there are a couple of tall ones - e.g. ’Fireball’) Consider removing the RoS and planting a hardy hibiscus as an alternative.

Kim is supposed to be sterile and in the last 7-8 years ive found only about 5 seedlings. good enough for me. i had a pretty pink one and it dispersed hundreds and hundreds. Of seeds. i did not repeat that mistake.

IMO Kim is a lovely shrub. Ken i complelely agree. i will be ruthless and if it dies it dies. Ill let you know when the funeral is but you've presided over so many don't feel obligated.

Woody, i have had several hibiscus and their form in my garden is quite different. Well pruned Kim is upright and flowers continually for all of August through mid Sept and throws a few flowers later. Hibiscus has a looser, more lax form.

And Japanese beetles love the foliage and deface them. I agree the flowers are gorgeous , esp deep reds and pinks.

Marie - our growing conditions for hardy hibiscus must be quite different. I've never found lax form or Japanese beetles a problem with them. I like the reds too but I prefer the pale pinks to the deep ones. Can you show me pictures of yours? I noticed a few buds showing color and a few flowers today - that is later than usual for them here as they usually bloom from mid July to late August. The reds seem to be later to bloom than the pink ones. I find they make a good partnership with autumn crocus - the crocuses bloom as the hibiscuses are fading, the bulb foliage comes up while the hibiscuses are still dormant in the spring and then the hibiscus foliage emerges in time to hide the crocus foliage going dormant in summer. You just need to be careful not to cut down the crocus plowers when cutting down the hibiscus foliage in the fall :-)

Woodyoak

Mines not in bloom yet but wiil take photo

i just noticed our zones disappeared

i know i added it a couple of months ago!

i dont have a lot of full sun 6+ hours daily

s lot if plants grow a little leggy