A Detailed Guide to Growing and Caring for Hibiscus
Hibiscus is also known as Chinese hibiscus, red hibiscus, rose of China, and devil's flower.Its flower language is fresh romance and subtle beauty. Hibiscus flowers are gorgeous and graceful, and many people like to grow hibiscus on balconies or in courtyards, so what are the methods for growing hibiscus? What points need attention during the growing process? Let us learn about them together.
Growing Methods for Hibiscus
1. Soil: It can adapt to various soils, but fertile, loose, slightly acidic soil is best.
Site selection and soil preparation: Choose a sunny, warm and humid climate, and fertile, loose, well-drained, slightly acidic soil.
2. Temperature: The suitable growth temperature for hibiscus is 15-25°C, and from October to the following March it is 13-18°C. In winter the temperature must not be lower than 5°C, otherwise the leaves turn yellow and drop. Below 0°C it is prone to frost damage, but it can still grow normally at high temperatures above 30°C.
After Frost's Descent and before the Beginning of Winter it must be moved indoors, because hibiscus is not tolerant of frost. The overwintering temperature should not be lower than 5°C, so as to avoid frost damage; and not higher than 15°C, so as to avoid affecting dormancy. When the weather is colder, it can be covered with paper or plastic film to keep warm. When first moved indoors, windows should be opened for ventilation every day during the day, and changes in the dryness and moisture of the potting soil should be watched, with appropriate watering. On the coldest days, watering helps prevent frost damage, but fertilizing should be stopped.
3. Sunlight: Hibiscus is a strongly sun-loving plant, and during the growing season it needs sufficient light to grow and bloom normally. If light is insufficient, flower buds easily drop, the flowers are small, and the flower color is dull; but when sunlight is too strong, the plant will suffer sunburn, so appropriate shading protection should be provided.
4. Watering: During the winter, keep the pot slightly moist; generally water once every 5 to 10 days, and the amount of water should not be too much, to avoid root rot caused by a low-temperature, high-humidity soil environment. In the dry winter climate of the north, phenomena such as pale yellow leaves and dry leaf edges will appear, so attention should be paid to increasing indoor air humidity. Methods such as spraying and washing the branches and leaves or covering with plastic film can be used to increase the air humidity around the plant and create suitable humidity conditions for its growth.
5. Management: Management is also very important. In early May, when it is moved outdoors to a place with sufficient sunlight, management work such as fertilizing and watering, loosening the soil, and pulling weeds should be strengthened. Apply a thin liquid fertilizer once every 7-10 days, and when watering pay attention to the dryness and moisture of the potting soil, as too dry or too wet will affect flowering. Management after autumn should be cautious, and attention should be paid to applying less fertilizer later, so as to avoid producing autumn shoots. Autumn shoots are tender in tissue and weak in cold resistance, and will suffer frost damage in cold weather.
6. Repotting: Before moving it outdoors in April each year, it should be repotted. The soil should be loose, fertile sandy soil. When repotting, new culture soil should also be used, part of the overly dense and curled fibrous roots should be cut off, sufficient base fertilizer should be applied, and a little phosphate fertilizer should be added at the bottom of the pot.
7. Pruning: After moving it outdoors, prune it. Except for keeping 2-3 buds at the base of each branch, cut off all the upper parts. Pruning can promote new branches, make growth more vigorous, and also make the plant shape more attractive. After pruning, water and fertilizer should be appropriately controlled.
8. Pest and disease control: After being brought indoors in winter, if indoor ventilation is poor and light is insufficient, it is prone to damage by aphids and scale insects, so attention should be paid to improving the ventilation and light conditions of the indoor environment and combining this with chemical control. When there are a small number of scale insects, they can be gently brushed off with a brush. The main pests of hibiscus are aphids, scale insects, mealybugs, and mites (commonly known as red spiders). These pests are all piercing-sucking pests. That is, they use their mouthparts to pierce the leaf surface or epidermis of the plant and suck the plant's sap. The affected plant's leaves lose their green color, growth becomes weak, and ornamental value is reduced. After aphids and mites occur, pesticides such as Yaman Sha, Yaman Jing, and Manchong Qing can be diluted a certain number of times and sprayed on the leaves to kill them, once a week, and generally 2-3 times can basically wipe them out. Scale insects and mealybugs can harm leaves and epidermis, and generally imidacloprid-type pesticides or their improved formulations can be diluted a certain number of times and sprayed on the affected parts to kill them. In severe cases, it can be done once every 10 days, and 3 times can basically wipe them out.
Precautions for Making Hibiscus Bloom More
Hibiscus is a flower that blooms in summer. Many flower lovers do not understand how to care for it when growing it, resulting in bud drop during the flowering period. How should this situation be handled, and what are the methods to make hibiscus bloom more? Below, the editor will introduce in detail the methods to make hibiscus bloom more. How can hibiscus be made to bloom more?
Methods to make hibiscus bloom more:
1. Choosing pots and watering
Make hibiscus bloom more. For potted hibiscus, it is best to use unglazed clay pots or wooden buckets (pots). These two kinds of flower pots have good air permeability, making it easy for the hibiscus root system to breathe and absorb water and fertilizer. Although the flowering period of hibiscus is relatively long (meaning it can continuously develop buds and the number of buds is large, laying the foundation for a long flowering period), the flowering period of each branch is very short. In the hot and dry summer weather, it can only bloom for a little more than one day; when there is cloudy and rainy weather and the temperature drops somewhat in late summer and early autumn, each flower can only bloom for 2 to 3 days.
Because hibiscus develops many buds, it needs plenty of water, plenty of fertilizer, and sufficient sunlight. Especially during the peak flowering period in summer, water 1 to 2 times a day depending on the temperature and the dryness and moisture of the potting soil, and water thoroughly when dry. Prevent half-watering and excessive watering that cause water shortage and root rot. At noon, water can be sprayed on the leaves and around the flower pot to lower the temperature and maintain air humidity, which is beneficial to growth. Never spray water on the flowers, because the scorching sun at midsummer can cause flower damage and affect ornamental value.
2. How to fertilize
Make hibiscus bloom more. It is best to use homemade alum fertilizer water, which is well absorbed and quick-acting. Use a plastic bucket with a lid, put discarded items such as the intestines of chickens and fish that cannot be eaten at home, together with the wastewater from washing chicken and fish and rice-washing water, into the bucket, add an appropriate amount of black alum (ferrous sulfate), screw the lid tightly and compost it. In summer it can be composted into alum fertilizer water in 2 months, and in autumn in 3 months.
When using it, be sure to add water to dilute it, and do not make it too concentrated, so as to prevent root damage. If you are afraid that the alum fertilizer water has an odor, you can put an appropriate amount of vinegar or orange peel into the bucket to reduce the odor. You can also directly buy ready-made bagged acidic flower fertilizer at the flower market, put it into the flower pot, shallowly bury it in the soil, and then water with clean water to eliminate the odor.
3. Ensuring safe overwintering
Make hibiscus bloom more. In northern households, the reason for failure in cultivating hibiscus is mostly that it was frozen to death because it did not overwinter safely. This is because hibiscus is a tropical summer flower from the south, likes sunlight, and is not cold-tolerant. The northern climate is cold, and households have no conditions to build a greenhouse, so whether hibiscus can overwinter safely is the key. When the temperature drops to 6°C, the hibiscus must be moved indoors to prevent frost injury. A plastic bag can be used to cover the hibiscus, and a few small holes should be poked in the plastic bag to let it breathe. Note that it is enough to keep the potting soil slightly moist, because hibiscus has the habit of winter dormancy and should not be watered too much, so as to prevent artificially caused frost damage.
4. How to prune branches and remove buds
Make hibiscus bloom more. After spring begins, the temperature gradually rises and hibiscus starts to sprout. To make hibiscus bloom continuously in summer, attention must be paid to pruning its branches and removing buds in time. For household potted hibiscus, it is necessary both to prevent the plant shape from becoming too large and too tall, making it difficult to move and affecting placement, and to make its branches lush and bloom more. This is a contradiction.
The best way to solve this problem is to cut the main stem of the hibiscus back when it emerges about 10 cm above the soil, keep 3 to 5 main branches, and keep 2 to 3 branchlets on each main branch, pruning it into a shrub-like shape. This can make the hibiscus branches full and lush with many buds, laying the foundation for continuous flowering.
Second, buds must be removed in time. Every bud that hibiscus sprouts in spring can develop into a flowering branch. At this time, buds must be removed in time; otherwise, letting them develop freely will cause disordered branch growth, slender leggy growth, scattered nutrients, and fewer and smaller flowers. The specific requirements for bud removal are usually: remove diseased and weak buds and keep thick and strong buds; remove overlapping buds and keep sparse buds; remove inner buds and keep outer buds.
Hibiscus Care
Hibiscus is native to China and is distributed in provinces such as Guangdong, Fujian, Guangxi, and Yunnan. It likes a warm, humid, sunny environment, is not tolerant of drought, and is not tolerant of frost. North of the Yangtze River it must be grown in pots, and in winter it must be moved indoors to overwinter.
Hibiscus has a very long flowering period. Under temperature conditions of 15°C to 20°C, it blooms continuously all year round.
Hibiscus has strong resistance and relatively extensive management, and does not require special management. In care, as long as the following principles are mastered, it can grow robustly.
1. Repotting and pruning
For potted soil, loose, fertile sandy loam should be chosen, and repotting should be carried out before moving it outdoors in early spring in April each year.
When repotting, 3 things should be done: first, replace with new culture soil; second, cut off part of the overly dense and curled fibrous roots; third, apply sufficient base fertilizer, and add a little phosphate fertilizer at the bottom of the pot.
In order to maintain a beautiful tree shape and a large number of flowers, according to the characteristic that hibiscus has strong branching and sprouting ability, pruning and shaping can be carried out before and after moving outdoors in early spring. Except for keeping 2-3 buds at the base of each branch, cut off all the upper parts. Pruning can promote new branches, make growth more vigorous, and also make the plant shape more attractive. After pruning, because the aboveground part consumes less, water and fertilizer should be appropriately controlled.
2. Management after moving outdoors
Hibiscus is a sun-loving tree species. In early May it should be moved outdoors to a place with sufficient sunlight. This is also the growing season for hibiscus, so management work such as fertilizing and watering, loosening the soil, and pulling weeds should be strengthened. Apply a thin liquid fertilizer once every 7-10 days. Watering should depend on the dryness and moisture of the potting soil, as too dry or too wet will affect flowering. Management after autumn should be cautious, and attention should be paid to applying less fertilizer later, so as to avoid producing autumn shoots. Autumn shoots are tender in tissue and weak in cold resistance, and will suffer frost damage in cold weather.
Move it indoors in time. Hibiscus is not tolerant of frost, so after Frost's Descent and before the Beginning of Winter it must be moved indoors to keep warm. The overwintering temperature is required to be no lower than 5°C, so as to avoid frost damage; and no higher than 15°C, so as to avoid affecting dormancy. Poor dormancy means growth and flowering will not be vigorous the next year. Any furniture house facing south with good heat preservation conditions can be used for overwintering. When the weather is colder, it can be covered with paper or plastic film to keep warm. When first moved indoors, windows should be opened for ventilation every day during the day, and changes in the dryness and moisture of the potting soil should be watched, with appropriate watering. On the coldest days, watering helps prevent frost damage, but fertilizing should be stopped.
Pest Control
The main pests of hibiscus are aphids, scale insects, mealybugs, and mites (commonly known as red spiders). These pests are all piercing-sucking pests. That is, they use their mouthparts to pierce the leaf surface or epidermis of the plant and suck the plant's sap. The affected plant's leaves lose their green color, growth becomes weak, and ornamental value is reduced. After aphids and mites occur, pesticides such as Yaman Sha, Yaman Jing, and Manchong Qing can be diluted a certain number of times and sprayed on the leaves to kill them, once a week, and generally 2-3 times can basically wipe them out. Scale insects and mealybugs can harm leaves and epidermis, and generally imidacloprid-type pesticides or their improved formulations can be diluted a certain number of times and sprayed on the affected parts to kill them. In severe cases, it can be done once every 10 days, and 3 times can basically wipe them out.
Hibiscus is a very common plant. It generally blooms most in summer, and from a distance it looks like a fiery red patch, full of vitality. Many people plant it in courtyards or balconies and other places, so when it comes to growing methods, remember the tips the editor has taught everyone.