Mike, I looked up your average temps in Anaheim. I envy you! You can certainly plant your hibiscus in the ground without worrying about freezes. We don't have that luxury. I do have some planted in the beds, but I cut them back and cover them in winter. I have to mention that we live on a limestone outcropping that sucks the water right out of the little bit of soil I've amended. Hence, the pots work best for me.
Yesterday it was 107° here. We were expecting rain, so I held off watering. 'Didn't rain, so I was out watering early this morning. We are under restrictions and can only water with sprinklers one day a week (and then, only between midnight and 10 AM and 7 PM to midnight). Otherwise, watering can only be done by hand. It's nearly a full time job in mid-summer.
I wanted to show you the fertilizer I use. I've had really good results with it. I'm sure there are plenty of others out there, but it's the numbers that are important to me. I was using 20-20-20 and it is okay for general fertilizing, but when I switched to a hibiscus fertilizer, they really took off.
The second photo is a snip of Prom Girl that I stuck in a vase-sized pot and forgot about. Not sure if the bees pollinated it or not, but Prom Girl is a single and this is either a double bloom or deformed (in a good way). Hibiscus can surprise you!
