First off let me start by stating I respect everyone's opinions and only want to relay what I am seeing here so that in hopes it might make others try new things that could help them achieve results they haven't had before.
I agree that I do spray a lot - at least 4 to 5 times a week weather permitting. The reason for this is that if you start on the other side of things and add little by little during fall-winter you might miss your chance to see an effect on your plants and then it is too late when not using enough and they shut down for the winter. Can't have that happen so you have to take your best guess on the stronger side using all the info available to you to make that call. Yes it is faith based on one side but it is also full of a lot of thought and logic again using all available info at my disposal. That is how I see someone finding the means to break out of the box which in this case is the mindset that you just have to wait from Dec - Mar before you can enjoy your hibiscus to bloom abundantly.
OK, with that being said I am going to now show you what I am seeing.
First are the few plants that have stopped growing and what it looks like. This is what I saw last year with all of my plants.
Here is my Bon Temps which I got back in the beginning (4/2010). It was replanted recently and shut down all new growth. A perfect example of what I saw last year with all my plants.

Next is shots from two plants that are on the smaller side that stopped growing a long time ago due to being much smaller in size. Even with the spraying it wasn't enough to keep them awake. I only have a few like this currently.
Legendary Pleasures - a small little one

Tahitian Lion Queen


This was what I saw everywhere last year with my plants. Branch tips that just browned and given up until some later day to reawaken.
Now for the vast majority of my plants they are all still growing. The growth is not explosive which is what I was hoping for by this point but it is solid none the less. There is no way my hibiscus could be doing this now without my spraying Supernova. I have plants of all sizes still growing all the way down to my little Hot Southern Nights that I got as a 4" in late fall.
HSN - doing well with it's first buds in mid winter

Simple Pleasures - a dinky little plant that has been growing nicely all winter long

High Voltage - medium sized plant never stopped growing all winter long

Valentines Day - Has grown rather strongly all winter long (both of them)

Vin Beaujolais - probably grew the most during winter - very impressive

Rise and Shine - has grown a lot as well during winter

Acapulco Gold - there is no way I would have this ridiculous amount of buds up and down the branches at the end of winter without spraying. It is amazing and I want to know if anyone else out there has such results?

Black Dream - same thing = buds all up and down the branches. I don't know if I mentioned this last week but I had 28 open buds (weren't the prettiest but it happened) at one time in the middle of this colder stretch for So Cal. Again how can that happen without the spraying???

Chariots of Fire - still going strong with the most growth down low which is where I want it to fill out after last year's spider mite attack.

Bonnie Lass - now this is an interesting case. It had leaves up until two weeks ago when I added chelated iron and watered a little. It hated it (always has been sensitive to watering - again soil issues here) and it dropped all it's leaves in a matter of days. What is good is that unlike last year it is still growing the whole time and immediately new leaves formed as well as the growth in the branch tips is still going on.


All these pics were taken just 1/2 hour ago. I might be partly to blame if I made it sound like my plants had stopped growing. They haven't - just that I am looking for that explosive spring growth which started in late Jan but slowed down to what I am showing you now. A steady and slower growth but enough to keep all the blooms coming even if they aren't always the prettiest blooms.
So this is what I am seeing. Based upon these results I have to conclude that the plants are still able to absorb the Supernova even when the weather is cold or swinging back and forth a lot.
My thinking for next winter is to spray the more mature ones a lot less if at all and spray the rest like I have this winter. The sprayer has been a life saver as I can do all my plants in about 1/2 hour.
Farmer D