{"id":122,"date":"2008-11-10T05:18:43","date_gmt":"2008-11-10T13:18:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/garden\/?p=122"},"modified":"2015-11-24T07:33:00","modified_gmt":"2015-11-24T15:33:00","slug":"hibiscus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/hibiscus\/","title":{"rendered":"Hibiscus"},"content":{"rendered":"

HIBISCUS
\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>“Help me!”\u009d said my husband’s friend.\u00a0 “My hibiscus is on life support!”\u009d<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It always makes me feel sad to hear tales of horticultural woe from people who love their plants, want to do right by them, but can’t seem to stop them from terminal decline.\u00a0 The hibiscus problem is a perfect case in point.\u00a0 Both parties–the man and the hibiscus–undoubtedly want things to work out, but they are struggling.\u00a0 Can this marriage of man and plant be saved?\u00a0 It depends.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The first problem is the plant.\u00a0 Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, sometimes called tropical hibiscus or Chinese hibiscus, comes from the mallow family, which also includes hollyhocks, okra and the hardy hibiscus or Rose of Sharon.\u00a0 The mallows are a large clan, but most members are reasonably mellow, with undemanding natures.\u00a0 The trait that sets tropical hibiscus apart from many of its relatives is its heat-loving disposition, which is why it is happiest in its native tropics.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Given the proper conditions, tropical hibiscus are among the most beautiful plants in the world.\u00a0 The flowers, which resemble those of their hollyhock relatives, come in a wide range of vibrant colors including pinks, oranges, reds, whites, yellows and even blue-purple.\u00a0 There are double-petaled varieties and bi-colors.\u00a0 It’s safe to say that even the most unassuming tropical hibiscus will knock your socks off.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When you take a tropical plant out of the tropics and into a cold winter climate, you can make that plant perfectly happy by growing it in a pot outside.\u00a0 It will soak up sun and push out new leaves and flowers with great regularity for the entire growing season.\u00a0 The only thing you will have to do is fertilize regularly and water when the plant gets too dry.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Like many couples, my husband’s friend and his hibiscus undoubtedly had a wonderful relationship in the good times–while days were long, the sun was bright and temperatures were high.\u00a0 As the days shortened and the temperatures dropped, however, the expectations of man and plant diverged.\u00a0 The man dreamed of taking the plant inside to a sunny spot in his house where it would flourish and bloom all winter.\u00a0 The plant dreamed of a heated greenhouse where it would do the same thing.\u00a0 When the heated greenhouse of the hibiscus’ dreams turned out to be nothing more than a well-lit indoor space, the plant went into decline.\u00a0 This resulted in the man becoming depressed and appealing for help.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My friend can’t afford to build a heated greenhouse right now, and even if he did, it might not be finished in time to help his hibiscus.\u00a0 If you are in the same state, the best thing to do is create optimal indoor conditions.\u00a0 Warmth is key, as is light.\u00a0 Putting the hibiscus in the sunniest possible location–ideally a south-facing window–is important, but you also have to make sure that the hibiscus isn’t being chilled by drafts leaking in from outside.\u00a0 Those of us with old houses need to be especially vigilant about this.\u00a0 If the plant is toasty and warm, it will have a much better chance of survival.\u00a0 <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Indoor hibiscus need watering, but too much watering will kill the plant.\u00a0 Water only when the top of the soil is dry to the touch.\u00a0 Fertilize once a month or so during the winter and gradually increase to once a week when spring rolls around.\u00a0 If you think that aphids, white flies or other bugs are the problem, encase the pot in a plastic bag and tie it securely around the hibiscus’ stem.\u00a0 Put the plant under the shower for a couple of minutes, which should be enough to blast off most insect pests.\u00a0 If you don’t want to do this, you can also spray the plant with insecticidal soap, being careful to treat the undersides of the leaves as well as the tops.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But what if you, like my friend, have done all these things and the plant still looks sickly?\u00a0 As with all relationships, patience is crucial.\u00a0 The plant is stressed by the outdoor to indoor transition, and, unfortunately nobody has invented plant Prozac as yet.\u00a0 You can provide all the love, support and comfort that you can muster, and the hibiscus will probably sulk anyway.\u00a0 The best that can be expected is a gradual return to the winter version of good health, which means continued life with the chance of some new leaves and possibly a flower or two.\u00a0 Human and plant will be greatly relieved when spring comes again, night time temperatures rise above fifty degrees and the hibiscus can return to the kind of life it needs and wants.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Of course, after all of the above, you may still be the kind of individual who flies in the face of conventional wisdom and enters into sometimes difficult horticultural relationships.\u00a0 If that is the case and you think you have what it takes to get involved with a hibiscus, try Logee’s Greenhouses, 141 North Street, Danielson, CT, 06239; (860) 774-8038; <\/font><\/font>www.logees.com<\/font><\/a>.\u00a0 Free catalog sent via bulk mail.<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HIBISCUS \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Help me!”\u009d said my husband’s friend.\u00a0 “My hibiscus is on life support!”\u009d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It always makes me feel sad to hear tales of horticultural woe from people who love their plants, want to do right by them, but can’t seem to stop them from terminal decline.\u00a0 The hibiscus problem is a perfect case … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-winter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1662,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122\/revisions\/1662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}