Thanks Hosta! I will let my daughter know, she’s just bought her first house with boyfriend. What is care on these please? Can you cut back hard if you need to? XxÂ
Thanks for the good advice Hosta. Would we do that in March/April? Does this shrub stay that size or keep getting bigger do think? I guess it’s difficult to tell without knowing variety?Â
I'd remove it now, whilst dormant. I don't think it'll get much bigger than it is now. The most popular varieties are H. Woodbridge, or H. Bluebird. My guess is that it'll be one of those.
Here is some information on your shrub tho the flower colour colour could be blue, pink, deep red, white, with our without a purple throat depending on variety -Â www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/91031/i-Hibiscus-syriacus-i-Woodbridge/Details
They can be very late to start showing new foliage after a hard winter so don't be surprised if buds open late.  You can prune out that lower thick stem that's heading towards the wall any time now on a day when frost is not expected. Use a proper pruning saw, available at GCs and DIY shops.  You can also use loppers to prune back half the stems to take them back to main stems and thus thin the shrub.  Take out the other half the following year.  Â
Just another quick question about the hibiscus in my daughters front garden. Â should we trim the spent flower heads at the top similar to hydrangea pruning?
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The most popular varieties are H. Woodbridge, or H. Bluebird. My guess is that it'll be one of those.
They can be very late to start showing new foliage after a hard winter so don't be surprised if buds open late.  You can prune out that lower thick stem that's heading towards the wall any time now on a day when frost is not expected. Use a proper pruning saw, available at GCs and DIY shops.  You can also use loppers to prune back half the stems to take them back to main stems and thus thin the shrub.  Take out the other half the following year. Â
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"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw