Oh great job Carole,I now need to plant Hardy Hibiscus..thanks for another great read

Tam. I will take cuttings when it's time to do that and will root you some. Stay tuned.

Wow ...OKEY DOKEY...Sweet...and I will stay tuned..The great thing Im reading about Hybicus seem to be rather easy to grow..Bonus..

Yes, Hibiscuses are easy to grow compared to some things. At least I think so. In fact, H. syriacus can reseed so prolifically as to become an invasive under some conditions. Propagation by stem cuttings is fairly easy for all the types if taken at the right times of the year. With the hardy varieties, sometimes all you have to do it stick the cutting right back in the ground. Don't even have to bother with a pot and soil and all that.

No wayy...OK Im ready for 1 now... I will probly buy 1 now...Ill need more than 1 or 2 ...Ya Know..

Yes, you will. I have several.

I have 2 Rose of Sharon bushes and I usually keep them trimmed back to a reasonable height but one spring they got ahead of me and I was a little intense when I pruned them. Chopped them to within a foot of their lives.

I tossed the limbs into a pile of other sticks and branches. A few days later I noticed there were morning glory vines coming up in a large container that lives outside year round. I think there were some hyacinth bean vines in there as well. So I grabbed a long branched limb from the pile of tossed branches, angled the end of it a little bit so that it poked into the pot more easily and I had an instant trellis for the vines to climb. About the same time I watered the little vine seedlings.

Some time later, maybe a week, I glanced at the pot and realized the branch had a lot of foliage. I thought the vines had grown quickly since it was so green but when I looked closer I realized it was the 'trellis' that had leafed out. That branch was from the Rose of Sharon bush that I'd pruned; it was growing in the container. It continued to grow and so did the vines. By August I had big white ROS blooms along with the magenta hyacinth bean vine blooms and the huge blue MG blooms. Almost looked like a red, white and blue 4th of July tree. I have no pictures because it was before my digital camera days but it was amazingly beautiful.

I didn't keep the tree in the pot during winter, I was afraid the growth of its roots might crack the pot, plus I usually cover those pots I leave outside year round. But for one long hot summer, it sure was pretty. I almost hated to toss that tree but I knew for sure I would have more where that one came from. I don't think it matters what time of year it is, you can root a ROS anytime and with little or no effort.

Beautiful article, Tee! One of my favorite plants.

Thanks, Sharon. Great illustration.

I will probably end up with my entire front yard covered with those and H. moscheutos. The gal who mows is already fussing at me. I added a "few more things" in the back. "No", she said with mock incredulity ... but the amount she has to edge now has increased so I have to pay more. Once I get back out there mowing and edging some, she won't have so much to do and will be happier with me (maybe).

I just returned from the nearest BB store and with our frost prediction for last night, I saw they had all their tropical Hibs sitting out in the parking lot. Some were sort of half covered but most were not. I'm glad we didn't actually frost, and I certainly wouldn't want to pay their asking price of $23 for a frost-bitten tropical Hibiscus ... even if it did have a braided trunk.

Tam, I forgot to add that my H. moscheutos die back to the ground every winter and those are the ones I'll have to wait awhile to root stem cuttings. I think I have at least 6 of those.

Cool , I know Im cringing at the plants out in the store lots ...Being Frozen...and still the same price after that ??? ACKKK

sharon ,Thats too sweet ,dontcha love those little surprises...Im going to use twigs and sticks as trellis for my asters this year neat Idea,I saw it in Garden Gate mag..Loved it