Hibiscus Care

Hibiscus plants are very simple to take care of. These are just some guidelines to aid you when bringing home a Hibiscus. They do not have to be followed exactly, Hibiscus in nature are pretty tough, and can adapt to most reasonable conditions.

**Important**
This is just a simplified care page for those of your growing Hibiscus as a hobby. If you have any questions I would be happy to answer them if I am able, just leave a comment on the help page.

 

Growing Medium

 

When planting Hibiscus one has to take in to consideration the plants needs. Commercial mixes can be good but pretty expensive. It's easy to mix your own soil, and less expensive! Hibiscus like a light medium that drains well, this is easily accomplished. I personally use a mix of 1 part organic soil to 1 part water retentive soil and add some perlite and black cinders for good drainage. Organic soil is soil that contains a lot of organic matter, it'll usually be darker than a water retentive soil and much heavier. A water retentive soil is usually light in both color and weight.

 

Hibiscus Maintenance

 

Re-potting: You know it is time to re pot your Hibiscus when you see roots in the drainage holes. Simply pick a pot slightly bigger than the one your plant is in and fill the bottom 1/3 of the pot with your medium. Take your plant out of its current pot by flipping it upside down while holding the drainage holes with one hand and the other hand laid flat by the stem. It helps to put the main stem between your fingers for a better grip. Place your Hibiscus in its new pot and fill in the empty spaces. Compacting the medium helps to prevent random holes appearing after watering. Medium should compact but not too tightly. Moisten the soil and the deed is done!

 

Fertilizing: Hibiscus are considered heavy feeders. The more nutrients you give your Hibiscus, the bigger, and more showy your blooms will be. The foliage of your plant will also be fuller and greener. An important thing to remember when choosing a fertilizer is that each plant has different requirements, these requirements are shown as numbers called NPK usually looking like 7-7-7. The first number is the amount of Nitrogen, second is the amount of Phosphorus, and lastly is the amount of Potassium. Hibiscus prefer a fertilizer that has a medium Nitrogen, low Phosphorus, and high Potassium. The fertilizer may not even say it's for Hibiscus, I use a water soluble banana fertilizer with a 10-5-40 NPK. The amount of fertilizer to use depends on the size of the plant but fear not, Hibiscus are pretty hard to over-fertilize. If your Hibiscus's leaves begin to display burnt or dead edges, you may be dealing with fertilizer burn, or over-fertilization. The key to fertilizing is doing it lightly but often. I will usually try to fertilize every other week. Sometimes I will switch it up and add compost to the top soil instead of the regular fertilizer. Organic compost is highly beneficial to Hibiscus and they love it!

 

Pruning: Hibiscus are very durable plants, when the tip of one branch is cut often two more will grow in its place. For young or small plants I would suggest tip pruning about 1/3 of the branches every month. Doing this will create more branches in your Hibiscus, which ultimately means more blooms! Pruning to downsize your plant is easy. Hibiscus can be cut back heavily without damage. Just cut back to desired size and remember to fertilize and water regularly.

 

Pests: One thing about Hibiscus is that they are loved by many insects. Some of these insects like butterflies, bees, etc. are beneficial for cross-pollination. Others are extremely harmful to Hibiscus plants, and can spread rapidly if left untreated. If you prefer to use organic remedies for pests a simple spray to the under side of leaves will help to stall spider mites from reproducing. A diluted spray of water and a few drops of dish soap will aid in controlling insects like aphids. I personally use an insecticide called Bayer 3-in-1. It's a foliage spray that kills all sorts of pests that Hibiscus come into contact with. There is one pest that it doesn't control and that's the infamous snow scale or the "silent killer". These little critters appear on the stem of the Hibiscus. They're particularly hard to get rid of because they are hard-shelled and are not susceptible to pesticides if used after their shells have hardened. I have read that some growers use horticulture oil, to rid their plant of snow scale. I use Bayer Tree & Shrub which is a systemic pesticide. This means that it is diluted with water, and applied to the roots for the plant to intake. The earlier snow scale is caught, the easier it is to get rid of, don't wait too long or you may be left with an infestation and a sad Hibiscus.