I' m not much of a gardener but I have two hibiscus that are not doing like I expect. don't they have several blooms on them all of the time? what do I need to do to them? the smaller one does look better than it did. I repotted them into 12" pots about two weeks ago.
This message was edited Jul 19, 2009 4:49 PM
I am a new hibiscus grower. I just bought some from the co-op. Yours look full and healthy.Are they regular or tropical ?
There are people on here that I'm sure will help you. They have been patient with me. I would be very pleased if mine was as full as yours. Sorry I wasn't any help. Hang in there.
Lynda
From what I can tell from the picture they look fine--you mentioned that the smaller one is looking better than it was, can you maybe describe more what was making it look not so good before? They don't always have multiple blooms at a time--sometimes they will but sometimes they'll give you less than that too. I've noticed that mine tend to give me the most blooms when it's hot out (95 degrees or so) so if you've had cooler or cloudy/rainy weather that'll decrease the amount of blooms. And since you just repotted them, they may work on getting established in their new pots before they do a ton of blooming. Also make sure you're using the right type of fertilizer--hibiscus don't like a lot of phosphorus (the middle number), so make sure you're not using "bloom booster" type fertilizers--those typically have a lot of phosphorus which is great for promoting blooms on lots of other plants, but not for hibiscus.
The smaller one had a lot of dead leaves,but had several buds. Every bud dropped off but one . The bud that did bloom was great. They are different types,they are diff. colors. I'm posting some close-ups of the plant buds. The very bottom of the buds look different I don't know if they are supposed to be like this. Here is the healthy buds.
another pic. of the healthy one.
Here's the bad bud's ??
They look fine, full and healthy to me also. Are they slow to come around with blooms because they were inside for protection in the winter? Most of them seem to go through blooming and growing cycles. There will be periods where you have quite a few blooms followed by a more quiet period when the plants are more focused on growing. You have to have growing periods since buds and blooms form on the newest growth. I see quite a few buds on them (especially the one on the left) so I would think you have quite a few blooms on the way.
And another of the bad bud's? This is the plant the bud's fall off of. I am using a water soluable fertilizer 24-8-16 once a week. Do you notice the dark on the very bottom?
This message was edited Jul 19, 2009 8:39 PM
LOL. I can't tell the difference between the good and the bad buds. The coloration looks fine. You might have experienced more than usual bud drop recently due to heat. Didn't you just through a very hot spell in temperatures a week or two ago?
what would cause bud drop? I noticed mine have lost several but I figured it was due to shock.
I don't see anything to worry about. If the plant used to have some dying leaves and lost some buds it may have just needed to be potted up (it looks the right size for the pot it's in now, so if it was in a smaller one before it could have been too small). Now that you've potted it up, it looks fine to me--is it still dropping buds? Hibiscus buds do fall off fairly easily for lots of reasons--temperature, inconsistent watering, too much wind, being too vigorous with the hose, bumping into the plant, dog wagging its tail into the plant to name a few ways I've lost my buds :-)
Yes it was very HOT!! Now we are having great weather for me,probably too cool for the plants. Also there have been yellow eggs?? that look like pollen but I know it wasn't. Some kind of insect maybe. Here's a great bloom.
No, I guard my plant's like my kid's. About the water,when the temp. is in the upper 90's, which is most of the time, I give them at least a gallon of water every day is this too much too often? The bud's drop off of the smaller one,the other almost every bud bloom's.
This message was edited Jul 19, 2009 8:51 PM
I'm not sure about the yellow egg thing. Do you mean a small yellow caterpillar type thing or is it small and round and concentrated on the bud itself? I'm not sure about the gallon watering every day. The plants are not showing visual signs (yellowing leaves) from either too much or two little water, so perhaps they need that much. Here is South Florida I only water mine very two to three days without any rain.
A gallon of water a day sounds a bit much to me, but watering frequency will depend on your potting mix & how fast it drains and how much sun your plants are in as well as the temperature. As Jon pointed out, usually if you're watering them too much you'll start to get yellowing leaves, but it also doesn't hurt to stick your finger down in the pot a few inches and see how wet it feels, it could be that since they haven't been in these pots that long the excess watering hasn't started to show symptoms yet. Hibiscus don't like to dry out too much, but if it's feeling really wet then you should probably back off on the frequency. It's been 100 degrees here for the past week and I've been watering my smaller pots every other day, but the pots that size only about every 3-4 days, and if it was only in the low 90's then even the smaller pots would only get watered every 3 days.
sound's like I've been over doing it a bit. They are on the deck with full sun all day long except late evening. I will cut back on the water. As far as the yellow thing it is clustered on the leaves.
Hmm, I have no idea about the yellow thing on the leaves. Perhaps you can take a photo when you get a chance and post it. I keep looking at your photos and I just don't see any obvious issues with the plants.
I wouldn't cut back on your watering without checking how wet the soil actually is--your watering frequency sounds a bit too much, but since there are so many factors that contribute to how often a plant needs water and since your plants aren't showing symptoms of overwatering I would check the soil before you do anything.
Notice the stem at the very bottom of the bud. The bigger plant has a longer dark piece where the smaller plant has DARKER short spot. I'm not too good at description.
Yes, I can see that but the buds look fine to me. The plants are different varieties so they are not going to look identical because they are genetically different. Usually we associate yellowing of buds prior to bud drop. Are these new hibiscus or have you has them several years?
Just got them the last week in June. Came from a nursery in the Missiouri bootheel. They were in 3 gallon pot's. I've read about the yellowing of bud's but these don't yellow they just fall off.
It's probably just either initial stress from repotting and/or being in a new environment and adjusting to their new home and new light conditions. The excessive recent heat you've had could also have been a part of the issue. Personally I can and do get some bud drop on newly acquired plants in the first few weeks but the problem usually corrects itself after a few weeks of adjusting to the new environment and light conditions. From looking at your plants I don't think I'd change anything you're doing and would just give them another month or so and see how things go. Some plants will adjust with almost no stress and others can show more stress. Each variety is a little different from the next. You should also consider fertilizing them every couple of weeks, or so, with a fertilizer with a lower middle number. Personally I alternate between several that are: 20-10-20, 18-5-23 and even use Miracle Gro which is 24-8-16.
Thank's you've been alot of help.
I just hope it eventually stops its bud drop. It can be a little aggravating when everything else seems to be fine.
