Hibiscus is a delightful plant that produces some of the easiest flowers to recognize. After the plant has grown for a few years, flower production is likely to decrease. Rather than leaving the plant to its fate, you can try to learn pruning techniques to try to revitalize it. With a few pruning notions, you can renew the flower production of your hibiscus plants.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Understanding the Principles of Pruning
Step 1. You must first know why hibiscus plants are pruned
Hibiscus flowers grow on the ends of the branches. By pruning a healthy plant, it encourages it to produce more branches and therefore more buds. Another purpose of pruning is to eliminate dead or diseased branches, in order to favor the regrowth of healthy and vital branches.
Step 2. You must therefore understand when to prune
Pruning must be done in a way that is in harmony with the plant's normal growth rates. The hibiscus plant should not be pruned in late autumn or winter, in order not to limit its growth in the following spring. The best time for pruning varies from place to place, but the hardest pruning should be done in early spring, while other more limited parts can be removed throughout the flowering season, right through to early fall.
Step 3. Get the right tools
To prune without damaging the plant, you need a very sharp knife, a pair of sharp garden shears, a pair of sharp pruning shears, and a hacksaw for any branches that are too large to be pruned with shears. It is also better to obtain disinfectant for agricultural uses, to sterilize tools and prevent the plant from becoming infected with diseases or parasites of external origin.
The tools you use must be very sharp. Dull blades can cause damage to the plant, damage that goes beyond the benefit of pruning itself. Take a few minutes to sharpen the tools, or get new ones if they are too damaged by use
Step 4. Now you need to learn where to cut
Keep in mind that where you cut will be the origin of the new growth. The aim is to cut the branches that are on the outside of the plant, cutting about half a centimeter above where a secondary branch or leaf is, and making the cut with an inclination of 45 ° upwards. The bottom of the cut should be closest to the plant, while the top should be furthest from the plant.
Step 5. Finally, you need to figure out how much of each branch you want to remove
Although this rating varies based on the condition of the plant, the general rule is not to cut more than 2/3 of each branch. By cutting further you are not pruning the plant, you are destroying it, and this intervention should only be done if motivated by the health needs of the plant itself.
Method 2 of 2: Hibiscus Pruning
Step 1. Prune the plant
A thinning in this case means cutting only the highest ends of the plant, in order to stimulate growth without reducing the overall size of the plant. This pruning is the most limited, and also the safest for those who are still beginners. Thinning is usually done on young and small plants, which do not require any other type of pruning until they grow further. Prune each end branch to the height of the lower bifurcation.
Step 2. Try selective pruning
This is the next step compared to the thinning of the hibiscus, and involves cutting the most important branches of the plant, but only in some points, in order to maintain the appearance and shape of the plant itself. With selective pruning always try to cut above a point where there is already previous growth, at a height of about 1/3 of the branch. Repeating the process on most of the branches of the plant will result in healthy new growth from where you cut.
Step 3. Complete pruning
A complete pruning means reducing the size of the whole plant, and it is done in early spring, so that the plant blossoms with greater vigor. The complete pruning leaves a little bitterness in the mouth, as to reinvigorate the plant we proceed to eliminate most of the branches and drastically reduce it. Proceed by cutting each branch so that only one or two shoots remain, and remembering not to cut more than 2/3 of each branch.
Step 4. Corrective pruning
As the name suggests, corrective pruning is necessary when the plant has any problems. It is usually used on plants that have suffered damage or are sick. Remove portions of the branch until green wood is exposed. If you find white, hard wood to cut, it means that part or the whole plant is dead and will not recover.
Step 5. Drastic pruning
Drastic pruning is performed only in special cases, i.e. if the hibiscus plant is dying or very damaged, and includes removing each branch until the living wood is exposed, with the hope that the plant will recover and grow again. Drastic pruning does not save an already dead plant, but at least in the process you will realize if there is no more hope for that particular hibiscus.
