Problem with Tropical Hibiscus

Hello everyone. A month back I bought 3 tropical hibiscus plants from a nursery in Florida. They are the varieties "Tahitian Princess", "Climax", and "City Slicker". Anyways, I haven't been able to get a single bloom to open since I got them. I immediately transplanted them from their small pot to a larger one, and chalked up the lack of blooms surviving to transplant shock. Well, some of the blooms yellow and die-off when they're small; others get larger before they die. Upon further inspection, I peeled back the green pedals to look inside the bloom itself, and found small white worms eating their way through the blooms, killing them before they have the chance to get large enough to open. Also, something is eating the leaves themselves. Can anyone identify what type of pest this is and know of a good remedy? Pictures come out way too blurry and the worms are so small, it's difficult describing them further. Any help would be appreciated!

I usually spray my plants with Neem oil to protect from Thrips (spell?), aphids, and white flies. I'm not sure what type of worm you have but I'd suggest spraying (soaking the base of the plants too) in neem or any other pesticide - like perhaps sevin (stronger concentration) - liquid so you can spray under the leaves as well - or if you can get a hold of a bottle of Bayer 3 in 1. How frustrating for you - I hope someone replies to let you know what type of pest you're dealing with!

Thanks for the response. I went ahead and bought some organic insecticide that claims to kill thrips and many others. I will treat at night, as another poster mentioned, to avoid chemical leaf burn due to the sun. I'm pretty sure now that they are thrips, because I found one little buggers in one of my yellow buds yesterday. I'm so frustrated because I bought these tropical hybrids with high hopes to witness these gorgeous flowers and haven't had a single bud last long enough to open...

Agreed....Usually, if your plants are no longer in the transplant shock thing...they usually have thrips. You will need a systemic pesticide, meaning it gets watered in through the roots and actually is inside the veins of the plants(in through it's "system")....as well as an outside the plant pesticide. Extreme tempuratures can cause bud drop too from time to time. If it's very hot, make sure you don't water them with extremely cold water. Wait until the air cools down (early am or later in the evening) to water, so the plant and watering temps are closer.

I bought the topical spray and applied it last week, and will re-apply it again this week. You're saying I need a systemic as well? Can you recommend a type?

I'll try to remember the name and let you know....I think Bayer makes it, and it's at Home Depot, Lowes, WalMart, etc....

I will head to HD sometime this week and look for a systemic insecticide - I'm sure there're plenty of them. Thanks again for the suggestions. I'm excited that I have a bloom on one of the plants - "City Slicker" - that appears to be in good shape to open soon! I will post a pic once it reveals itself to me!

Hi Grant,

Hope you get your bug problem situated. I'm a newbie to the hibiscus craze, and it hit me hard. I have 13 right now, including City Slicker. I bought it as a tiny baby from bigbadflower in FL along with Gabriel & Voodoo Magic, and of all three, City Slicker seems to be the best grower as well! I am jealous of your other 2, I've had my eye on those.

I'm writing to tell you that I had some bugs on my hardy a month ago. There were flies and worms. Turns out they were one in the same, larva / adult. They were called rose slug? something like that, and also I found a few aphids on one of my tropical's. I've had problems with both bugs in the past, but now that I'm on DG it won't ever be an issue. DG has made me a much more informed gardener, with all the help of other experts at my fingertips.

I posted some photos of my bug problem, and Neem Oil was suggested, I quickly got Neem and gave it a try. Because it was natural, it takes a little while to work, and because I already had bugs, I needed POISON!! So someone also suggested Bayer Advance Dual Action Rose & Flower Insect Killer. It works for 30 days, and Killed those little B____ on contact! I was so mad, I soaked the poor plant from top to bottom, top side and underside. I also didn't wait till nightfall, I did it in the middle of the day. Fortunately it was not very hot and sunny that day, and I didn't notice any burn. But I haven't seen any of those little buggers since. It was a great recommendation, and it defiantly saved all my hibiscus. Not a single bug and I haven't re-applied for weeks!

Hope this helps!
Kristen

Kristen,

I'm impressed by your collection! I only have a total of 10 hibiscus plants (my property is less than 1/4 acre :( ) - 6 in the ground, the 3 new ones still in pots, and a "jane cowl" "tree" potted on my patio. The ones in-ground are a double-red variety, a double-pink (flowers the size of dinner plates!), a yellow (turns pale-yellow in the sun), a mini white, a semi-mini orange (bright orange!), and a deep pinkish-purple. I posted some pics a little while back. I hope to get these 3 new ones cured and in the ground once they are healthy and have a grown a little more. I plan to up-pot them once more before settling on their final plot in the ground.

I used an organic insecticidal soap, bought at home depot, that came in a convenient spray bottle and was fully diluted and ready to go! I figured I'd give it a shot, since I have tomatos, herbs, papayas, and mangos growing nearby. I'll let you know how it works! I'm also going to pick up a systemic, as mentioned above, to see how it works! Thanks for the posting - I'm as well jealous of you collection :)

That bloom may open today or tomorrow. I will post a pic!

Yes, def post a pic! I have mine all in pots.... Connecticut. You never know. It was 96º yesterday, and right now I am in a sweatshirt with my blanket wrapped around me! I plan on trying to root cuttings when the time comes. Who knows how successful I will be. I also want to try to cross pollinate. Ugg, hope it goes well! With reading all these forums, it seems quite difficult!

Let me know how the systemic works. I wonder if I need to do that as well?

Yeah I figured no hibiscus would ever survive your winter. WOW 96! We've been in the low to mid 90's (over 100 with heat index) here in S. FL, but how crazy is that to experience those temperatures so far north. I've been having to keep these watered every day. I water them early before the sun comes up, and by the time I get home from work, the soil is dry and the leaves are starting to droop lol...when it's cloudy, I can get away with every-other day, though.
I'm rooting one of my hibs to experiment with it. I've rooted other plants like croton, but never tried hibiscus. I know I'm not doing it the proper way (e.g. rooting hormone), I'm just soaking the end in water until tiny root sprouts form, then sticking it in soil and hoping for the best lol! I'll eventually do it the right way so I can begin my own propogation. I wouldn't know the first thing about cross-pollinating - are you trying to create hybrids? Can you cross-pollinate a hybrid? I heard they're sterile (but what do I know lol...).

Well actually, our summers are usually that hot. Believe it or not it is quite uncomfortable for a couple months July, August, September... It sometimes gets over 100º and always humid! But the typical summer day would be 85º + 80% humidity. Sound nice??

I have no idea if my experiment will work... I think you can pollinate a hybrid. I read a lot on Hidden Valley Hibiscus and when you click on any of the flowers, he sometimes tells you the parents of each. Like Saffron, (which is a blooming nut at my house right now) her parents are 'Misfire' & 'Norman Lee', and 'Acapulco Gold' is the offspring of 'Fifth Dimension' and 'Georgia's Pearl'. So I would think they are fertile. If not, I'm in for a disappointment! I'll be waiting around the bush for 4-5 weeks for nothing to grow!

Here is a photo of Saffron from today!

Beautiful bloom! Let me know how the cross-pollinating works!

Well here she is! It is marked as "Climax", but it looks more like the "Tahitian Princess", which is marked on another pot. I wonder if they got them mixed up, or if it will change colors later in the day once the sun hits it? Either way, she is beautiful!

Closer shot. Sorry for quality - these were taken on my cell phone this morning.

what beautiful colors!

Your Saffron is breathtaking. Love your other one too. Thanks for sharing with us.

Hugs,
Judy