How to Make a Hibiscus into a Tree Form

Shrubby hibiscus makes a striking tropical tree.

Chinese or tropical hibiscus (Hibiscus Rosa-sinensis) bears large trumpet-shaped flowers with crinkly, papery petals and vivid hues. This plant grows in USDA hardiness zones 9 to 10, but can be grown in containers in other regions and moved indoors for winter. While the plant is naturally shrubby, gardeners enjoy training it into a single-trunked tree in a container. Prune your hibiscus to train it into tree form any time of year except winter, and be patient: the process takes a long time.

Things You'll Need

• Hand pruners

Instructions

1. Remove side branches from your hibiscus to create one long branch that forms a trunk. Since the plant is naturally shrubby, you must force it to take a trunk by removing side growth.

2. Continue to remove side branches that compete with the one you're training as a trunk. Cut competing branches back to the base. Train the plant in this way until it reaches a good height for creating side branches for the tree.

3. Allow two to three offshoots to grow, and trim competing branches. Choose offshoots that lay evenly around the tree for a uniform appearance.

4. Continue to let these offshoots grow into branches and remove other growth. Let the trunk keep growing vertically, removing more shoots along the trunk. When you want to create another set of branches, use the same technique of selecting good offshoots and trimming competing growth.

5. Clip back the tips of your branches to keep the hibiscus at a desired size.

References

• University of Illinois: Chinese Tropical Hibiscus
• Floridata: Hibiscus