Hi where should i start i guess from the beginning...My husband bought me a hibiscus tree this summer, when we first got it it wasn't the best looking tree so i went to a plant nursery and they told me that i might need a bigger pot and some miracle-gro so i put it in a bigger pot and gave it some miracle-gro and it turned out to be a very nice looking tree with beautiful blooming flowers...now that it has been getting cold i brought it inside and my husband told me to put it in the shower and let the water run on it to get whatever bugs might be in the soil. within a few days the leafs turned yellow and falling off. I've been watering it from time to time and seen a bug crawling in the soil so i found some bug spray that i used on my rose's and sprayed the soil real good...now i don't think that was a good idea cause now the leafs isn't turning yellow anymore they have turned weepy and hard and falling off and the new leafs thats started and doing the same now, plus the soil doesn't seem to be getting dry so i have watered it in almost a week. My husband thinks we should get a new pot and new soil and replant it..im not sure what to do i just don't want to lose my hibiscus so can someone please help me before its dead
The transition from outdoors is really tough on tropical hibiscus. It is not uncommon for them to yellow and lose a lot of leaves when brought in. They prefer even moisture, not dry, not soggy wet. When fertilizing, don't use a high phosphorus mix. Here are a couple threads you may want to read through: http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=19721&highlight=hibiscus http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=19050&highlight=hibiscus
I thought i might add a couple of pic's of the hibiscus in hope that it might help figure out the problem of if its dieing or not.
You should try cutting it back pretty hard, this way the plant will have less branches and leaves to try and keep alive, let the soil dry out more and stop fertillizing it for the winter. keep it somewhere were it will get lots of warmth and sunlight. try taking it out of its pot and checking the root system for any rooted roots, plus hibiscus enjoy being potbound and they will flower more. hope this helps, but definately cut the branches back some to help reduce the stress and good luck.
Scratch the bark firmly and if there's green underneath, it's still alive, but if it's brown or whitish, then it may be too late. Not taking up water is a bad sign. Normally I'd say to water it more - hibiscus LOVE water, but in its present state, I'm not sure what to tell you.
I scratched the bark and it still seems to be green so i guess its still alive but when i was doing that i seen some real tiny whiteish bugs crawling around in the soil and every time i tried to pick one up it either went into the soil or jumped I'm not sure it moved kinda fast.....this is the same kind of bug i seen when i first brought it inside and used my rose spray on it and thats when the leaves well started to dry up and fall off
It's a bit late now, I suppose, but I don't think anyone would recommend spraying for something when you don't know what is causing the problem. I'm not certain about cutting it back, either - it is not advised by this site on hibiscus winter care. There's also this: Myth: Pruning the Tops of New Transplants Compensates for Root Loss (PDF)
I cut mine back very hard when they come in every winter and they have ben around for many many years, it does help root development because there is less plant for the roots to try and keep alive, especially when it is this shocked/dying.
I just want to thank everyone that has replyed and to say thank you very much james for all the help you have gave me...I will let everyone know how it turns out...crossing fingers and toes
I read this post way back when it was new or pretty new in hopes of saving my Hibiscus plant. I finally bought a Hibiscus last July as a birthday present to myself. It was very very bushy at the time. I brought it home. re potted it and pruned it a little..... well more than a little. It was very dense; so much so that I wanted to give it some air circulation. That might sound sort of silly but that's how I was feeling. There were lots of buds on it at the time but no blooms. I put it on my back porch facing the southwest where it is very hot and dry and windy much of the time as well. I watered every day or two I am sure.... and soaked it. It bloomed profusely for the rest of the summer. I left it out until the end of September. Not too long after I brought it in (maybe after one month) the leaves started to turn yellow and black and drop off. I know now that it was too cold where I kept it although it had quite bright light. It has 3 main stocks and all but a few large leaves and a few tiny leaves fell off. I don't think I gave it enough water either as I was afraid to over water in the winter months. I do believe I did two things wrong which resulted in it's present condition. I kept on watering it every week even though I was sure it was going to die. I just took a good look at it and one of the stocks is most definitely dead. The other two stocks are growing new leaves and there is new green growth at the tips of almost all of the branches. So, I am glad that I didn't cut it all back as I was tempted to do. I thought I would just leave it alone and see what happened. I will take a photo of the 'sticks' in a pot and then another one in a few months and post them here. How is your Hibiscus doing now???
Hi, well it still isn't doing much of anything but i have done some things that people have told me and i have seen some little green things pop up but they turn hard within a week or so, its still not drinking water so i water it once a month and i have scratched the bark and its still green. so i still have my fingers and toes crossed .....hope yours turns out to be fine cause they are a very beautiful tree.. no matter what happens to mine i will be getting more
My thoughts are that you should just leave it alone but maybe give it water every two weeks instead of once a month. I think that is what is causing the new leaves to dry up and fall off. My plant isn't doing that. I'm going to take of picture of it now. It looks really pathetic but I'm optimistic. Give me a little while and I'll post a picture. Also, I did read all of the advice you were given but just left mine alone and now I'll glad I did. I think that misting it after bringing it in the house would be helpful also. I did that even when it was outside in the summer but it is very dry here. Semi- arid in fact.
Here is picture of the plant after bringing it in the house but I'm not sure how long after. Couldn't have been too long after. The flower is an orangy red with gold. It looks like someone took a paintbrush and lightly painted gold on each petal. Really pretty. It didn't take long for it to look like yours in the photos you posted. This is what it looks like today. As you can see the one stock is dead. I am going to prune it off gradually to see if any part of it is alive. I have my doubts. Oh by the way, this plant was infested with aphids several times for the rest of the summer. I just kept spraying it with a mild solution of insecticide.
Yours is looking a lot better then mine, i really think mine is dead which makes me really sad because it had the biggest red flowers i have ever seen and it was almost as tall as me ( lol ) but thats OK i guess I'll get another one this summer and try again...I'm still not going to throw it away yet just in case it might do something.
Lets keep fingers crossed. You never know do you. As tall as you ! I don't blame you for hanging in there. Well......let us know if there is any life stirring .....
