Q.potted hibiscus after hailstorm
My potted hibiscus likes to spend the summer outdoors in the sun. However, we had a dreadful, hard hailstorm here. It came up so quickly I didn’t get my potted plant in. Most of its leaves are broken/shredded — looks like they’ve been chewed, except it was the large hailstones that broke up the leaves. Should I remove the broken leaves or leave them on? If I took them off, the plant would be just about denuded, as are many of the bushes, trees, and wild raspberry plants around here since last Monday’s storm (south shore of Lake Superior).
Certified GKH Gardening Expert
They should recover and regrow their leaves. You can remove them if you want but you may want to treat them with neem oil to protect them from any possible insect or fungal problems that may arise from the stress they've incurred.