I would think that if there is no growth above the twelve inches, that part could be clipped off. I recently had some plants that were not planted correctly and I dug them up. They looked as if they were unhealthy and dying. I potted them up in fresh potting soil and they were on the rebound in a couple of days, all new growth. One of mine had two older growth twigs and the leaves returned to it, so I suspect if you have no growth on the top, that part has died and/or dried out. I'm not sure why your re-potting went so wrong. Did you maybe fertilize it when you re-potted it? The fertilizer can burn the roots. Glad you didn't give up on them. Some plants can come back from the brink of death with just a little TLC. Good luck. Darren

Thanks, Scott. That's probably cut back a little harder than I meant, but no harm done ....... and I don't see why you couldn't have blooms within a couple of weeks. Keep in mind that your fertilizer RATIO is important for best results. Hibiscus is rather unique among plants in that it wants very little P (so NEVER use a "bloom booster" fertilizer) and more K than N. P should always be the lowest number by a considerable margin, and K the highest number. Even the 1:1:1 ratio fertilizers like the common 20-20-20 supply too much P and not enough K. RATIOs like 3:1:4 or 3:1:5 are very appropriate. A RATIO is different than NPK%s, but NPK %s are what determines the ratio. IOW, 20-20-20 and 7-7-7 are both 1:1:1 RATIOs, while 24-8-16, 12-4-8, and 9-3-6 are all 3:1:2 ratios. I have always had VERY good results using Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 for all my plants, but since hibiscus likes a 3:1:4 or 5 ratio, I supplement it with Pro-TeKt, which supplies extra K and silicon. Silicon is an element plants use effectively to strengthen cells. It helps prevent diseases, limits predation by sap-sucking insects, and helps plants better tolerate temp extremes and moisture level extremes in the soil. If you decide to use the FP 9-3-6 and don't want to buy the Pro-TeKt, you can always by a bag of potash and add a little to your fertilizer solution every time you water. A nutritional supplementation program the plant actually LIKES goes a long way toward allowing you to consistently keep your plants healthy & attractive. Did you make the soil or buy it? If you made it, did you add dolomitic (garden) lime to it (important question)? Take care. Al

Potassium has not been found to be toxic to turf grass at "excessive levels." That being said, recent studies have indicated that excessive K has shown some detrimental affect for stands of bentgrass and poa annua. Two grasses you are not likely to be growing in a home lawn. I have not personally experienced any detrimental affect of K on KBG. K can also increase soil particle dispersion increasing soil compaction issues. Application of any amendment in excessive amounts can affect turf's ability to take up other nutrients just because of the sheer volume of the applied amendment or plant stimulation or chemical interaction. In your case, you may see a bit of color change due to the increased demand for iron caused by the K and possibly a slight change in water penetration into the soil, but nothing to worry about. You still need to apply an additional amount equal to what you've applied, but follow morpheuspa's schedule for any future applications to avoid any over application at one time.

Just some fertilizer info to help with the confusion: You might find the formulation 12-4-8, but 12-6-8 is one I've never seen. I'm not saying it's not available SOMEWHERE, but it's not readily available ....... and it's not a high-K (potassium) fertilizer. A high potassium fertilizer for Hibiscus would be something like 12-4-18 or 9-3-12. The NPK % 14-14-14 is only one of the hundreds of the CRF fertilizers offered by Osmocote, and 1:1:1 ratio fertilizers like 14-14-14 are not well suited to hibiscus in containers because you can only supply adequate amounts of N or K by significantly over-supplying P, and hibs rebel at P excesses. There is no "right" fertilizer for Hibiscus growing in the ground unless its formulation is determined by the results of a soil test and the testing facility knows you'll be growing hibiscus. W/o having your soil tested, whatever you use as fertilizer is essentially a shot in the dark. Generally though, in a very high % of the US, it's best to use phosphorous-free fertilizers that are high in K (potassium) for hibiscus growing in the landscape as opposed to pots. Al