I have one (and plan to buy another) that I planted in a large pot. It lives on the deck during the warm months and inside the family room during the cold months and it seems to like it that way. Good drainage is important, though - I bought one and put it in a pot without holes on the bottom and it didn't survive long.

Go native
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=HIMO

Anonymous wrote:Did you know that hibiscus flowers are like chocolate to sloths? I just happened to learn that this morning while showing a video on YouTube to my children of baby sloths being given a bath. (After their baths, the caretakers hang them on a set of monkey bars to "drip dry." Too cute.)

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. . .

The flowers are a dried and used to make a delicious drink in the caribbean--it is called "sorrel".

Anonymous wrote:Nursery employee here in DMV.

Buy and plant in a pot that you intend to throw out on October 1 or move indoors to a sunny spot. It won't flower inside (unless your house is 80+degrees every day) but it will survive. Then you can bring outdoors next June.

You're a nursery employee and you don't know to tell OP to simply buy a variety that is hardy in zone 7 (the local zone)? OP such varieties can be bought online as 2 year old plant. Plant them in a south facing spot close to your home to give it warm. Mulch lightly before the first frost next winter.

Rose of Sharon is hibiscus syriacus and is a weed and is invasive.

There is a native hardy hibiscus to the states, also known as swamp mallow. I have three in my garden that I grew from seed, white, pink and magenta. The blooms are huge and last for one day. They get quite tall and are perennial, take full sun, although they will tolerate shade, and like moist conditions. Other than that they are very easy going plants. I cut them down each Nov. and they grow five feet tall the next summer. They are pretty late to leaf out.

They are not a thug in the garden like R.O.S.

Tropical hibiscus have beautiful dark green foliage and more blooms, but are not hardy to the area and will need to go into a garage or sunroom for the winter.

Huh, we have Rose of Sharon in our yard and it's never been a problem. Looks lovely once it blooms, and it handles the weather well (it was planted by previous owners and has survived our really cold as well as mild winters). Every so often extra shoots appear, but they're easy to prune back.

I have a Rose of Sharon Hibiscus shrub in the yard. It is a horrendous weed. If it wasn't so hard to dig up it would be gone. You do not want this plant. Maybe other Hibiscus plants are OK, but not this one.

Did you know that hibiscus flowers are like chocolate to sloths? I just happened to learn that this morning while showing a video on YouTube to my children of baby sloths being given a bath. (After their baths, the caretakers hang them on a set of monkey bars to "drip dry." Too cute.)

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. . .

I have 2 potted, braided trees that have been with me for 7 or 8 years. Mine flower indoors, but not as much as outdoors in the summer. They also tend to get quite "leggy" over the winter. I prune them immediately after Christmas and fertilize in March or so. My husband usually accidentally fertilizes them outside once during the summer at some point. I've only repotted them once.

Anonymous wrote:Nursery employee here in DMV.

Buy and plant in a pot that you intend to throw out on October 1 or move indoors to a sunny spot. It won't flower inside (unless your house is 80+degrees every day) but it will survive. Then you can bring outdoors next June.

Wow - so I can register my car and get a new bush at the same time?

I have a hardy hibiscus planted outside that comes up every year (then it dies off/gets cut back in the fall).

Nursery employee here in DMV.

Buy and plant in a pot that you intend to throw out on October 1 or move indoors to a sunny spot. It won't flower inside (unless your house is 80+degrees every day) but it will survive. Then you can bring outdoors next June.

A lot of people we know who grow them keep them in pots outside in the summer and bring them indoors for the winter.

Our next door neighbors have several in their yard that have been there for many years. I'd ask about the frost-hardy varieties at a local garden center.

I would like to plant a few hibiscus but wonder whether this would work considering the weather in the D.C. area.