Last year, we bought a hibiscus plant at our local greenhouse, along with a few other ones. It was the first time we bought perennials, didn’t know what we were doing, and planted them along the side of our house. While I love looking at flowers, I’ve never been a big-time flower grower and typically don’t give them the attention they need to thrive.
After a successful first year, we didn’t do anything to prepare the hibiscus for winter beyond removing some of the dead flowers. We had a harsh, cold, and long winter. We had overnight lows below zero multiple times and received feet of snow, and even though I knew that the hibiscus we bought was suitable for our growing zone, I didn’t have high hopes of it surviving. And when winter ended and spring began, it looked like my concerns were valid. The plant no longer had any leaves, and the stems looked like straw.
Even by early June, there was still no sign of life, and we came close to pulling the hibiscus because there seemed to be little chance of it regrowing. But something began to change throughout June. New leaves started to grow, and the dreary brown was slowly replaced by vibrant greens. Flower buds started to form in July and were beginning to open and bloom in August, and they have yet to stop blooming. We’ve already had a light frost, but the plant continues to bloom and put on new buds. It’s the most amazing and crazy thing. I want to reiterate that we haven’t done anything to help it grow. We used fertilizer when we first planted it but have done nothing since. It’s even reached the point where we’ll probably need to prune it back to keep it under control. I can’t believe it.
It’s the perfect example of nature. We as humans have done so much to cause the earth harm, yet nature rebounds and retakes if we let it. There are abandoned buildings everywhere that are now covered in grass and plants and have trees growing out of them. Entire city blocks will look like woods within a few decades if no one prevents it, and it’s so beautiful. If you’re like me and are saddened by how humans treat the earth and its plants and animals, this is a wonderful site. And it’s a reminder that the damage we’ve done can be reversed.
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