Hibiscus Advice?

[Clayr]

Last September, we planted two "hearty hibiscus." They were pretty leafy, but after the first freeze, lost leaves and became sticks in the ground. This spring and summer, they've prospered beyond belief. They're about 3' tall each, have "trunks" about 2" in diameter, and produce huge, beautiful flowers daily. They're quite obviously happy where they are.

In today's newspaper, I think, there was a piece that recommended removing them to a greenhouse or sheltered area for the winter. Apart from the fact that this would be next to impossible, I cannot imagine them surviving being uprooted and transplanted. They're gorgeous and huge.

So, here's the question. Do we cut them back or leave them alone. The original stems are still there, and are leafless; I don't want to leave them uncut if they're in need of winter pruning back.

These are "hearty hibiscus." Advice?

[Suzan]

I have two of these. Every year they completely die back. I usually just wait until late winter to prune them to about 4" above the ground. After they start growing, I remove any dead canes.

Right now they are about 5' tall with a 4-5' spread and going. The gorgeous, dinner-plate sized flowers are hard to beat. :D

[sandih]

If they are hardy instead of tropical then you don't have to do anything. The natural thing for the hardy hibiscus is to completely die back every year then return the following spring. If you do have a common tropical hibiscus, they will freeze and die if left outside during the winter.

[Newt]

Here's how you can tell if you have a hardy hibiscus or a tropical one.
http://www.trop-hibiscus.com/gindr.html

Hardy Hibiscus info:
http://www.bachmans.com/tipsheets/Perennials/HardyHibiscus.cfm

Tropical Hibiscus info:
http://www.trop-hibiscus.com/index.html

Newt