Of course our Houston winters are not as harsh as some of your locations, but I chop my down every winter to the ground and it's at least 10 ft tall again by summer. As for spider mites, you should rotate between miticdes so they don't build a tolerance. I rotate between Floramite, Oberon, and Minx when needed. I also grow tons of plumeria which mites love and this process works for me.
Pre winter storm February
May
Current
