If you want your balcony to bloom all year round, you must grow a pot of Chinese hibiscus. The flowers are enormous and bloom all year round. Get a pot now!
If you want your balcony to bloom in all four seasons, then grow a pot of this flower: Chinese hibiscus, also known as rose of Sharon (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis). Right now is the season when Chinese hibiscus blooms. If your balcony gets good light, as long as the temperature is above 15 degrees, it can bloom all year round. The flowers are large and especially vivid, and there are many varieties with diverse flower colors, making it highly ornamental.
So how should you normally care for Chinese hibiscus to keep it thriving?
1. Light,
Chinese hibiscus likes an environment with plenty of light. More sun exposure can make its flowering period longer and its blooms more vivid. At the same time, Chinese hibiscus likes relatively high air humidity. Provided there is good ventilation, misting the leaves more often is good for the plant's growth and makes it less prone to yellowing and drying leaves.
2. Soil,
Chinese hibiscus likes loose, fertile, slightly acidic soil. You can use leaf mold, large-particle river sand plus a little garden soil, and then mix in one part pine needles to adjust the soil's pH. You can add more base fertilizer so it has enough nutrients to promote flowering.
2. Watering
Chinese hibiscus likes moist soil. Provided the soil is loose and breathable, keep watering generously. Chinese hibiscus is not drought-tolerant, so do not let it go without water often, as this can easily cause buds that fail to open and bud drop.
4. Fertilizing: because Chinese hibiscus both blooms and grows, fertilizing should mainly use multi-element fertilizer, applying light fertilizer frequently. Apply dilute fertilizer water once or twice a month so it has enough nutrients to support its flowering.
5. If water and fertilizer are sufficient and the light is good, Chinese hibiscus grows relatively fast, so it needs frequent pruning and cutting back of branches to maintain a good plant shape. It has strong branching ability and will sprout many side branches. The branches you prune off can be used for cuttings, and they root and survive very easily.