BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Container Gardening Winterizing

Do you winterize some of the summer flowers that you grew during the summer? I'll have to take good care of my hibiscus. Any recommendations?

I brought my two hibiscus plants in the house,left them in front of east windows and they bloomed off and on.

Thanks for posting Sheila. I have a new hibiscus and it has been lovely all summer. Although I do not have an east window, I have a bay in the dining room facing north. It would get plenty of light although northern and eastern light is definitely different.

I struggle with indoor plants.

My mother passed on to me a sedum or cactus (I have no idea what it is). It is so beautiful in the summer - plump, strong, and reddish in summer outdoors and puny in winter indoors.

Believe it or not, we have a Norfolk pine that is about 5 1/2 feet tall - not quite full but looking half way good.

Someone told me to put my hibiscus in the garage for the winter. It does not get much light. Do you think it would winter over well? Do you water periodically to sustain the roots?

I guess I should begin bringing in the plants now at night.

Hibiscus is a tropical plant. You can store them in a frost free place, but they don't go truly dormant and still need some light. Possible, but not the best option and no guarantees. The less stress the better.

The best thing to do is put it in a warm and sunny room with strong morning or afternoon sunlight. If you don't have east or west windows, south is the best choice because there is more sun exposure on the southern side.

Keep a saucer under it for watering when it starts to dry out, and half strength fertilizer will help them weather the winter better. You might even be blessed with some blooms!

Thanks for that information. It is time to begin bringing things into the house as it is cooling down at night. I do not want any surprises.

I had a small hibiscus that I brought into the house in Winter. It hung in an East facing window and while it didn't exactly thrive, it certainly survived the Winter. I did not get any blooms until it went back out on the deck for the Summer. I think I had it for 3 years.

BTW my SIL's neighbor has a hibiscus in the ground that never gets brought inside and it is the most beautiful hibiscus I've ever seen. Every Summer it is covered in HUGE red flowers. Our Winters are definitely NOT tropical, but the plants thrives!

Years ago in my other house, we had a hibiscus in the back yard. It received a lot of southern exposure and was sheltered by the house. I have more deer here and will have to figure out a way to protect it. Not only that, but the Japanese beetles do a number on it as well. I picked all the beetles off this summer. Fortunately it was small enough to handle.