Hibiscus that lived through a frost winter?

Hello Gardeners, We bought two Hibiscus last summer that our dog ate. Well there wasn't much to them left so I planted them outside last fall in Zone 7 (North Carolina Piedmont) not expecting much from them. What little green was there died off in the winter down to the ground. This spring/summer they grew about 3 foot high and wide with a great color display.





My question is, since they both lived through a frost winter, what should I do this year? Should I cut them back to the base? Dig em up and bring them in? If I cut them back should I cut em down to the root level again or just give them a trim? I don't have the variety info and I looked at Rose of Sharon and the leaf structure doesn't look the same so I don't think they are azaleas.

Hibiscus that lived through a frost winter?
HARDY HIBISCUS - Hibiscus syriacus Zones 5 - 8





most folks that I know cut them back to about five inches and mulch them in pretty heavy....and mark them so you know it's not a dead plant, cuz they take forever to get going in spring... May or June before they really get a move on.... especially up in the Ohio area...
Reply:some hibiscus are cold hardy. it sounds as though this is what you have.


zone 7 is semi-tropical (i believe). your hibiscus should do just fine, unless you have one of those rare winters where the temps stay below freezing for an extended amount of time.


i would not dig the plant up, but would mulch heavily in te late fall. i would not cut the plant back either. i would wait until spring and see if the branches put out new buds or if the new growth comes from the base of the plants.





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibiscus





hope this helps.
Reply:I think the safest thing would be to just give them a trim, root prune them soon and bring them in before the first frost. You got lucky last year and maybe it is a hardy variety and would work outside this winter too. But if you want to be really safe...