Caring for a Lord Baltimore
I am getting a few of these from my dad today and was wondering what I should do to care for them. Do they need pruned? Cut back? Winterized? I have never taken care of anything like this, but they are so pretty! I believe they do best in full sun, which kind of stinks because I wanted to put them in the front of the house, but I don't get any sun there. If anyone has these and has any tips, please let me know. Thanks!
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Assuming hibiscus is what you are talking about, it should be pretty easy to grow and maintain. Here's a basic summary:
"Easily grown in average, medium to wet soils in full sun. Best in moist, organically rich soils, but does surprisingly well in average garden soils as long as those soils are not allowed to dry out. Regular deep watering is advisable. Tolerates some light shade, but full sun with good air circulation produces best flowers, strongest stems and the best environment for resisting potential diseases. Site in locations protected from wind to minimize risk of wind burn. Deadhead individual flowers to maintain plant appearance. Cut back stems to approximately 3-4" in late autumn. New growth shoots are slow to emerge in spring. However, once new growth begins, it proceeds quite rapidly and plants will benefit from regular fertilization during the growing season." https://www.mobot.org/GARDENINGHELP/PLANTFINDER/plant.asp?code=A359
"Easily grown in average, medium to wet soils in full sun. Best in moist, organically rich soils, but does surprisingly well in average garden soils as long as those soils are not allowed to dry out. Regular deep watering is advisable. Tolerates some light shade, but full sun with good air circulation produces best flowers, strongest stems and the best environment for resisting potential diseases. Site in locations protected from wind to minimize risk of wind burn. Deadhead individual flowers to maintain plant appearance. Cut back stems to approximately 3-4" in late autumn. New growth shoots are slow to emerge in spring. However, once new growth begins, it proceeds quite rapidly and plants will benefit from regular fertilization during the growing season." https://www.mobot.org/GARDENINGHELP/PLANTFINDER/plant.asp?code=A359