I brought my tropical Hibiscus inside for winter and forgot it for a couple weeks. Many leaves yellowed and fell off. It looks horrible. But it is alive with a few leaves at the tips. How should I be caring for it over winter? Can it go dormant and recover, or do I keep it (lightly ) watered and growing with light?
Give it all the light you can and cross your fingers.
thanks, it has settled down with keeping a small amount of leaf and I am watering it.
When I overwinter Hibs, I let them go almost completely dry and keep them in a cool, dim basement. I start watering on our 'last frost' date & repot EVERY YEAR just as they start leafing out. Repotting (not just potting up), which includes root pruning, is important to their long term vitality .... and NEVER use a bloom booster fertilizer on Hibiscus. Use a 3:1:2 ratio (Ratio is different than NPK %s. 24-8-16, 12-4-8, 9-3-6 are all 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers). Adding a little Dyna-Gro ProTeKt 0-0-3 is an excellent strategy, as well. The silicon in it strengthens the plant and compliments the K content of the 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers nicely.
Al
This message was edited Feb 5, 2014 6:34 PM
thanks Al!
It's hanging in here, losing just a few more leaves but most looking OK.
Sally--
Mine is sitting on my dark, cool Shop. Occasionally-I dribble some water on it.
Because mine has those crinkly, leathery, thick leaves--most of them are
still on the plant. Every now and then, one will yellow and I pull it off.
Just went downstairs to look--I was going to take a picture--but it looked pretty
wilted. So--I gave it a drink. No harm! I do the same with my Brugs and
the now also have the potted Fig I grew from a cutting down there--all are "resting"...
When I bring it outside--i will give it a serious hair-cut, do a serious root-pruning--
re-pot it in some fresh soil and hope the white flies leave it alone this summer.
Maybe I will mix a good amount of Systemic Granules in the soil if it would help...
Gita
time to renew my Hibiscus
thanks again for the advice
I put my Hibiscus pot outside yesterday. Have not done anything to it yet...
I may let it grow one more season in the same pot (????) as I just bought it last
summer. It is very rooted, though. Decisions....decisions....:o[
My older Fig cutting is also outside--right outside my front door--all shade...
May take the ones that have been rooting outside as well. Soon...
Tomorrow---mid 70's!!! Yahoo!
G.
Just brought in my hibiscus for the Fall-Winter. Was wondering what to do with it after it finishes blooming. I'll try what you said. Sound's good. Thankyou
I prune my hibiscus viciously when I take them in. LOL
