Here is Hibiscus that will not bloom

Here is Hibiscus that will not bloom

Hi, it is healthy looking, what color are the blooms supposed to be? What exactly is the name of it? I am no expert on hibiscus, but it looks like it is producing too many leaves and not enough buds. Do you have it in the full sun, not overwatering or feeding? Good question as to why it won't bloom, cause my little ones are blooming and they are only about 1 foot tall. Someone expert on here needs to reply, good luck too. But am still curious about that hibiscus! :)

It looks healthy enough ...

How long have you had it, Jan? Also, how many hours of direct sun do you think it's actually getting each day? They like to get LOTS of sun as a rule.

Too much nitrogen? A drink of a "bloom boosting" fertilizer mix might help.

K

I have one just like this..never blooms..I think its a white with a red eye.Needs to bloom soon or Compost! LOL

Well, in my quasi-limited experience, virtually all varieties of hibiscus that I have dealt with over the years are ready bloomers. If the conditions are right they go bonkers! With a larger, established specimen "one flower per main branch per day" is a reasonable expectation.

Their needs are rather simple:

Light. They crave LOTS and LOTS of light. Sort of like personal lubricant when referred to in regards to one particular activity: "Too much is almost enough."

Moisture: Don't let the soil get bone dry. This is (in my very best impersonation of Rainman) bad, bad ... very bad. By the same token, don't keep them drenched. Almost all varieties of hibiscus are not happy with wet foot. Root rot is NOT your friend.

Fertilizer: I can really get behind the curve on this with as many plants and gardens we have. Since these are blooming machines in the summer I typically will nail the soil with some fertilizer "spikes" in early May. Now that it's July I hit mine pretty hard with a high 'P' count (10-30-15, for example) or "Bloom Booster" type fertilizer.


Granted, lots of varieties will take little "breaks" during the summer, but usually not for too terribly many days. Some will "rest" for a week or so, but not too often.

This gal shoots up anywhere from 2 to 5 new blooms every day.

Watch that phosphorus application. You are right, it does encourage blooming, but hibiscus can get too much of a good thing.

SYlvi ... do tell. I've probably made a mess of some of mine over the years and knew now why! I biggest losses came with over-wintering. Perhaps I had been overdosing some later in the summer with the "bloom booster"?

I have read that hibiscus can get phosphorus poisoning from having more available to them than they can use. I will try to find the original source I read that in so I can give you more information.
Personal experience, I was using a high phosphorus fertilizer when I read that. My plants were blooming like crazy, but they were kind of thin and weedy in the foliage department. When I changed to a fertilizer designed for hibiscus with micronutrients, they still bloomed but just looked stronger and better. That was about 5 years ago, and I still have one of the plants now that I had then. (With overwintering indoors in MI I have a terrible time with spider mites.)

I bet ... my bane is the pathetic lack of sunlight we get in this house. It's great for keeping the house cool; during the summer, but it really stinks come time for wintering my tropicals.

What are you using that is designed for Hibiscus?

I've been using this fertilizer. My plants seem to love it. I use it on my tropicals (H. rosa-sinensis), my hardies (H. moscheutos), and my rose of sharon (H. syriacus).

http://stokestropicals.plants.com/Stokes_Tropicals_Hibiscus_Blen_P186C168.cfm

I'm still looking for the original info about the phosphorus.

Here are some sources I found on google:
http://www.atouchofthetropics.net/faq.shtml#sp7
http://www.exotic-hibiscus.com/care/feeding.htm
http://www.garden.org/subchannels/health/houseplants?q=show&id=777
http://loyno.edu/~gerlich/NOHS/care.html

edited to add links

This message was edited Jul 19, 2005 2:03 PM

thanks for the links!

Hooray the Hibiscus is now blooming. Been blooming for a week now and here it is