Hibiscus Intervention

I went to visit my parents this weekend at their home in Ohio for my mother's birthday this weekend. I was excited to bring her the hibiscus I had ordered for her from HVH, as it was one that she had been wanting since we discovered HVH this past winter. She loved it of course, and she wanted to put it on her back porch for the remainder of the summer. As she walked me and the plant out to the porch, I saw something that made me fear handing the new hibiscus over to her.... a hibiscus tree (purchased from a local garden center) in desperate need of a hibiscus intervention! It was one that my father had been "caring for". The moment I saw it, I could hear that commercial in the back of my mind with Sarah McLachlan and the abused animals. LOL The branches were so long and out of control, that my father decided to bind them up with a bungee cord. And it was planted in .... a bucket from Lowe's! I asked my dad why he didn't just prune the branches. His response: "... you can do that?" I immediately described to him how to prune the hibiscus, and the importance of using an appropriate planter with good drainage. I also showed him the hibiscus care info on the HVH website and bookmarked it on his computer. I told my mom that I would be coming back to check on the My Blue Heaven I bought for her birthday in a few months, and I would be taking it back if the advice I gave to my father was not followed. LOL

Here are a couple photos. Prepare to cringe!