I read this with amusement, since I have had many battles with Hibiscus plants here in Canada. When I worked at a greenhouse, the boss always kept three large potted Hibiscus plants in the greenhouse. They almost always looked ratty, defoliated and very unhealthy. One day I asked why, and he said. “Decoys. They are pest magnets. If we keep them here, the pests will go to them and leave other plants alone.”

Over time I found that was true.