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Hi guys, I am an amateur gardener from New Jersey, and regularly grow jasmine and hibiscus flowers. During a typical NJ summer, my hibiscus flowers bloom beautifully with a deep red color. However, this year, they did not bloom AT ALL. All I saw for months on end was green leaves . Not a single flower this entire season even though I regularly watered them during hot and dry spells in summer.
However, last year, my hibiscus plants were blooming till late September. What is the issue this year that prevented my hibiscus plants from producing flowers. Is this an indication that my beautiful hibiscus plant will die soon .
Here is how they typically looked in full bloom last year. Imagine 5 flowers like this all around the plant:
When did you last prune them? Pruned branches won't produce blooms for a number of months...Other than that perhaps there is a mineral deficiency?
I only prune the branches in fall, before I winterize it and bring it inside my house. This hibiscus plant is quite sensitive to cold (Just like me). Hence, I bring it inside once low temperatures regularly dip below 45 F. I don't bring it back out till early May.
Guess its a mineral deficiency. Could you please offer me tips to solve this problem.
You may be giving it the wrong fertilizer, and that encourages the leaf growth. Look up hibiscus fertilizer and see how it matches what you have been using.
Some varieties do not keep blooming year after year, they seem to go downhill after the first good year. How long have you had these?
What are you using to fertilize the Hibiscus? It needs frequent but light fertilizer. Most often to get good blooms the fertilizer should have a higher potassium (K) and nitrogen (N) and lower phosphorous (P). The numbers on fertilizer are for N-P-K ratios.
Have you changed the soil and used a light one specifically for tropical plants? Standard potting soil is not good enough for drainage and over time becomes compacted and reduces the root strength. If the plant is root bound and hasn't been potted up into a larger pot it may also produce leaves but not blossoms.
Those are the most obvious reasons I can think of.
I have had this plant since the spring of 2011, which makes it 2.5 years old. I typically use Scotts potting soil for this plant, and it was growing very well outside the last 2 summers and even managed to produce flowers inside my house during winter.
Tell me whether the pot I have is large enough to support a plant of this size . If not, where can I find larger pots. This is the largest on I am able to find so far.
Also, since I will be winterizing my Hibiscus plant in 10-15 days, please provide me with an appropriate choice of soil for this plant. Let me post an image to help you out, but add another 0.4 ft to account for the plant's current size (This photo was taken last summer):
Last edited by Adi from the Brunswicks; 10-06-2013 at 07:52 PM..
Perhaps the long term decline you have noticed is a temperate zone problem, or an issue related to long term containerization.
I've seen tropical hibiscus in tropical countries that were trees and had clearly been thriving there for many years.
Not in north America, but the tropical hibiscus can get to be a really really large permanent plant.
I was shocked too the first time I saw a pointsettia tree. Our cute little Christmas decorations, when grown in a favorable climate, become very big permanent landscape plants.
Hi guys, I am an amateur gardener from New Jersey, and regularly grow jasmine and hibiscus flowers. During a typical NJ summer, my hibiscus flowers bloom beautifully with a deep red color. However, this year, they did not bloom AT ALL. All I saw for months on end was green leaves . Not a single flower this entire season even though I regularly watered them during hot and dry spells in summer.
However, last year, my hibiscus plants were blooming till late September. What is the issue this year that prevented my hibiscus plants from producing flowers. Is this an indication that my beautiful hibiscus plant will die soon .
Here is how they typically looked in full bloom last year. Imagine 5 flowers like this all around the plant:
I believe it's the lack of rain. We are in Delaware, and many here did not bloom, or bloomed sparsely because of little to no rain this past summer. The State plants massive amounts of hibiscus bordering their rest stops along Rt. 13, and they didn't bloom much this summer. Also, our convenience stores plant many of them around their areas - same thing, few blooms.
You didn't mention how much light your plants were getting. Hibiscus grow well over our roof but only bloom where the light hits them. I try to prune them down 2/3 a year, but now have to move them to a sunny location...no more blooms. I never fertilize them at all but that may be because of FL's bizarre indigenous soil, which many call sand, but isn't...it has sand in it, but it's dirt, lol.
Is there a plant trader thread anywhere in here? can't find one, but I've got so many pineapples, bananas and crepe myrtles, palms and such, I need a place to send em! (sorry for quick hijack)
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. Not a single flower this entire season even though I regularly watered them during hot and dry spells in summer. 
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