Thought it was dead, but i got a new little sprout!

[beverlycss]

 So i bought a hibiscus plant last summer to put in my flower bed from my local garden center, however it never bloomed and it also died (i assumed) through the winter. There was one stem about 2ft tall with new growth but no blooms when i originally boutgh it and planted it late last summer, however now that winter is over it is black with no new growth or leaves or anything. Its just a stick sticking out of the ground. And then out of nowhere since it has gotten warm again a little sproutling has appeared apparently from the roots. I am so incredibly excited about this.It appears to be a completely seperately growing sprout. However i dont want to risk it dying through the winter like the last, i think this happened because unknowingly the plant wasnt for my zone 5b- 6a. So will it still be ok if when it starts to get cold again i dig it up and put it in a pot? or will this shock and kill it? can anyone help me with what to do to keep it alive?

[beverlycss]

this is a pic of the little sproutling that came out of nowhere, you can also slightly see the dead wood of the original in the background.
Sorry i just now figured out how to put a pic to the post.

[Charlie]

Hi Beverly, welcome to the HVH forum.

In your zone a tropical hibiscus like the ones Hidden Valley Hibiscus deals with would have died for sure in the winter unless it was protected. What you have is probably one of the cold hardy hibiscus that naturally dies down to the ground during a freezing winter but shoots rapidly up again the next spring/summer. It looks like it is going great again and you should expect rapid growth and flowers by mid-summer. You can help it along by giving it a good hibiscus fertilizer like the HVH Specialblend.

Charlie

[beverlycss]

Thank you!! So if i dont want this to die down so much next winter and want it to keep growing and expanding can i dig this one up at the end of summer or will that do too much damage since it was started outside in the ground?

Also i love your "bon temps" hibiscus, so would i be able to order one or two and keep them as houseplants in the cold seasons as long as they get adequite sunlight in doors until i get my green house? Or do these varieties not do as well indoors?

[Charlie]

It depends on whether this one is tropical or hardy. If it is hardy you should just leave it where it is and it will repeat the die down/rapidly regrow in the summer pattern that is natural for it. It needs to do this and won't like being dug up and kept in a warm house. But if it is tropical you certainly could try digging it up and placing it in a pot. I doubt that it is tropical because winters in Ohio are much too cold for a tropical hibiscus to survive outdoors. Still, with hibiscus you never know when they will show you an exception to any rule you make. If you let it grow this summer and send photos of the plant and blooms we can probably tell you if it is tropical or hardy.

Bon Temps is a fine hibiscus. It does well in the house or outdoors. In fact the flower colors remain prettier indoors because hot direct sun can fade the colors quickly on this one. Unfortunately, the only Bon Temps we currently have are in large 2 gallon pots. These are great plants and already blooming but heavy and expensive to ship across the country. We will have smaller ones again but not quite sure when.

Charlie

[farmer d]

I have a second year hardy hibiscus named Lady Baltimore and it did just as Beverly described her's doing.  It totally dies down for the winter and then new stalks emerge from the root ball in spring.  I believe once the main stalk is tall enough you start to see the mature leaves which kind of look like marijuana leaves.

Hope that can shed some further light on what you may have.

Farmer D