Hibiscus is easy to keep alive but hard to keep thriving - a gardener teaches you the tricks for a full, blooming pot
People who love growing flowers all love varieties that bloom all year round, and when it comes to blooming all year round, besides roses, hibiscus is another woody flower variety that is very much worth recommending.
Hibiscus
Hibiscus, also called Zhu Jin or Zhu Jin peony, is an evergreen large shrub in the Malvaceae family. Lan Yao herself grows several pots of hibiscus, and feels that hibiscus is really, really easy to keep alive. Below, Lan Yao will explain how hibiscus should be cared for.
Hibiscus
I. Growth habits of hibiscus
To grow any flower well, you first need to understand that variety's growth habits. Hibiscus is a strongly sun-loving plant, meaning it loves sunlight and requires a growing environment with plenty of sunlight. Hibiscus likes warmth and humidity, is fairly afraid of cold, is not cold-tolerant, and is not drought-tolerant either. With suitable temperatures it can bloom all year round.
Hibiscus
II. How to grow hibiscus
When growing hibiscus in pots, you should start from the following aspects
1. Potting soil:
Hibiscus is not picky about soil. To avoid soil compaction caused by repeated watering, try to choose loose, breathable, fertile soil when mixing potting soil. You can mix garden soil + leaf mold + peat + perlite. Put in plenty of base fertilizer when potting up.
Hibiscus
2. Light:
Hibiscus loves sunlight, so just put it in the spot in your home with the best light.
3. Water and fertilizer management:
After spring warms up, hibiscus grows vigorously and needs more fertilizer and water. Along with watering, you can apply a liquid fertilizer every 10-15 days, which benefits hibiscus growth. Hibiscus is not very drought-tolerant; during the growing period the potting soil should be kept moist. If the potting soil gets too dry, it easily drops flower buds.
Hibiscus
4. Pruning:
Hibiscus branches grow out very quickly. During growing, be sure to promptly pinch off the tips to encourage side branches to sprout. If you do not pinch off the tips, it easily becomes a single branch that just keeps growing without producing branches. Hibiscus blooms in the leaf axils of new branches, opening in the morning and falling in the evening, so only with a full, bushy shape can many flowers open at once.
5. Winter warmth:
Hibiscus is not cold-tolerant and needs to be kept warm in winter, with the temperature maintained at 12-15°C. When the temperature is below 5°C, the leaves turn yellow and drop. If a relatively high temperature can be maintained in winter, hibiscus can keep blooming.
Hibiscus
III. Precautions for growing hibiscus
1. Hibiscus is not drought-tolerant. After suffering drought, it easily drops buds, so during growing the soil should be kept moist.
2. During hibiscus care, the environment should be kept ventilated. Poor ventilation easily leads to scale insects.
3. During the growing period, pay attention to promptly pinching off the tips to encourage side branches and achieve a full, bushy shape.
Hibiscus
IV. Tips for a full, blooming hibiscus
Growing hibiscus is really very simple. If water and light are controlled well, it will not die, but many flower lovers grow hibiscus with a thin, sparse shape and few flowers. So how do you get a full, bushy shape?
If you want a full, blooming hibiscus, during growing you must prune hard. Besides heavy pruning and shaping before new growth in early spring, during the growing period you should also pinch off the tips at any time to encourage branching.
So you must be ruthless, do not be reluctant. When new branches grow 4-6 leaves, pinch the tip to encourage branching. After pinching the tips several times, the hibiscus shape will become full, and naturally there will be more flowers.
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