Hibiscus, also known as Tropical Hibiscus, Chinese Hibiscus, Hardy Hibiscus are woody, flowering plants known for large, vibrant, one-day blooms in red, pink, yellow, and white. They require at least 6 hours of full sun, well-drained soil, and consistent moisture to thrive. Tropical varieties need protection from cold (below 55 F), while hardy, (zone 4–9) can survive winter.
This cultivar, 'Brilliant' is reportedly a tropical, with bright red flowers, when in bloom, although most Hibiscus flowers only last a day or two. An Evergreen, it will, reportedly, bloom nearly year-round in "mild climates".
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| Feb 2026 - Unpruned |
I found this tree on the "50% Off" table, overgrown & neglected, but seemingly healthy & showing recent growth.
Acquired: Feb 4, 2026; Cost: $12.50; Source: Home & Garden Center
This plant had dense foliage & branching making it difficult to really see his "bones"; as you can see, almost impenetrable.
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| Feb 5 - 1st Prune |
After cutting away some foliage & branching, we can start to get a picture of what this plant actually looks like.
Unfortunately, after removing the dead branches, foliage, etc., we can really see what this plant looks like & it ain't pretty.
This plant is no stranger to pruning..stubbed out branch ends (broken off?), many, many knots indicating where previous cuts were made, the main trunk "chopped" just above where the 4 main branches emerge.
The next step I want to take with this plant is root reduction; now that I've reduced the load on the roots, due to topside pruning, I should be able to reduce the root mass by a commensurate amount..in other words, if I reduced foliage by 25%, I should be able to reduce the root volume by 25%.Secondarily, I want to re-pot him in a smaller & more manageable container than the 12" pot he came in.
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Feb 7 - Re-potted
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And I was able to re-pot him in a 9" pot, as you can see in this photo. He was 'slightly rootbound' as he had roots circling the pot, but they had not overgrown the primary root ball, which was still distinct & I had no problems trimming the excess & seating the plant squarely & firmly in the smaller container.
At this point, I realized that this was no longer a "reclamation project"..this was not going to be a typical restoration of a badly-kept or abandoned plant that just needs a little food/water/sun & patience to restore to health..
In my opinion, in order to "save" this tree, it will need a total cut-back to the main trunk (his only redeeming feature) & to re-grow the canopy.
The arrows on this photo show my proposed cuts on 3 of the existing branches..the 4th will be removed entirely.
This will mean that if the tree survives the surgery, he will have all new wood to develop a fresh, new iteration & hopefully, new life.
(this is a work-in-progress..check-back for updates)
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