Hi!
I am a new gardener (never gardened before), so I hope very much for advice from the list.
Currently, I am concerned about my hibiscus fireball. I mail-ordered four of them, and I got 4 apparently healthy plants of about 3 inches high. They looked funny when they arrived, though, all were bent downwards in a curve (like a question mark). They seemed to do very well during the first days after planting, but after 4 weeks they have grown little or nothing. Well, we had obnoxious weather during the past weeks, it is truly cold, and night temperatures still come close to the freezing point. With all that said, I am still worried. I also planted hibiscus rose of sharon and a couple of roses, and they all show signs of vigorous growth. Is there something wrong with my hibiscus fireball? Has anybody experience with them and can tell me what I might do?
Thanks in advance!
hardy hibiscus fireball
Kee, how much sun and water is it getting? What about fertilizer? Let us know what you are doing for it.
Hi Kee---as I said in the other forum I'm not a hibiscus expert, but I just looked up the Fireball in the PDB (Plants Database) and it says it is hardy to zone 5a. You don't have your zone listed under your name but remember you said you are in UT close to the ID border. Could it be too cold there for Fireball?
I planted a Fireball last summer, and it took a couple of weeks longer than my other perennials to 'take off' - but once it did it grew like a weed!!! Amazing flowers!!!
I also have a question about it for all you seasoned experts. The Fireball was big and vigorous, but toward the end of the summer I notice that the branches seemed to be very fragile. I mean they would just fall right off the main trunk with relatively little downward pressure, such as being hit with a frisbee (the kids). Is this normal for this plant, and can I do anything to strengthen it?
Also, I cut it back to the ground in the fall, meaning to replace it, but I changed my mind, and now its growing right back up from the roots again. I will leave it where it is, but I am not sure if it actually SHOULD be cut back in the fall, or left uncut or what.
Help?
My hibiscus die back each year. I usually prune them back after that. In spring they come right back!
I have two Hibiscus planted , They are pruned to look like trees . I am really not at all sure about how to take care of them They have bloomed a lot since I have got them. and I have fertilized them with just miracle grow. didn't know what else to use any suggestion? also how tall do they get?
Depends on which ones they are. Sounds like you are taking good care of them. I use miracle grow on mine also and make sure they get plenty of water.
They have gotten plenty of water here in ky, it has rained everyday this week , except for today. Do you know how tall they get?
Just depends on which hibiscus it is. Some of the tropicals stay pretty small. Then I have some that get about 5-6 feet tall.
Hi again,
thanks so much for all your comments. Regarding my Fireball Hibiscus:
I water them every day if it is not raining. I also gave them some fertilizer (the granular form) for flowering plants, but so far it does not seem to work. During the last weeks, we had little sunshine and too cold weather for the season, sometimes even below the freezing point at night. However, the nursery that sent them instructs customers explicitly NOT to keep them inside but plant them outside immediately, so that they harden off from the start!!! I am not giving up on them yet as long as they are alive, although I am disappointed so far. And I will mulch them next winter really well, once I detect they are worth the trouble.
Well, I cannot order sunshine, so I just have to wait, but I am a bit relieved to hear that Cupoftea's Fireballs were not growing much during the first weeks as well.
If you have any further suggestions what I can do, please let me know, I'll check again. Thanks so much!!
Here's a link to 'Fireball'.
http://plantsdatabase.com/go/40908/index.html
It say 4-6 ft tall. Not sure if that's the same one you have bevjane, but the PDB has an extensive listing of Hibiscus cultivars.
Brenda
Hi Brenda,
thanks so much! Well, the info in the link is encouraging. So, I just wait. One of the Fireballs has just only the stem left, still looking like a question mark and not larger than about 3.5 inches, with only some indication of new leafs coming out on the very top. But again, it is still alive. Thing is, because of their future size, I gave each of them plenty of room, and so I will have quite some holes in the border that I created until they come out. Well, I decided to fill in with annuals until they are really growing, otherwise I will exchange against another couple of roses next year.
Maybe they got too much water? I watered every day if it was not raining, thinking they might need it at least until they are established. But I believe what is missing is more sunshine and warmth. Next week, we will finally get temperatures in the 70s, so I set my hopes on that.
Thanks again everybody!!! I send pictures of my fireball, once it has developed.
Langbr Thanks for the help. I'm pretty sure now that my hibiscus is the rose of sharon . It has a bloom larger than I've seen on most, and the color is a dark pink, I went to the PDB to find this much out. So thanks again.
I dont have the fireball but my dinner plate is doing well. It was slow to start and the leaves/stems did look like little question marks but its doing good now. I think it needs a little more time and the weather to start warming up a little more and when that happens watch out. Im no expert, I just got mine last year and if Im right Hardy Hibiscus is rose mallow so it dies down in winter to come back up in spring. I mow mine down to the ground after its died as it dosnt come back from old growth but starts new from the ground.
Hi again,
I am happy to hear about your hibiscus experience because it helps me to be more patient. The weather is just warming up, so I just wait and see what's happening. I have two rose of sharon too, but they are little trees, came bare-root, and I planted them about 2 months ago. They needed about 5 weeks to stir, but now they are doing extremely well, with new foliage coming out all over! The Fireballs are very different in that the do not have any woody stems at all. Like Cupoftea said, foliage (and the whole stem) seems to break off very easy. I have no idea yet what to do with them in the fall, unless they do not show any improvement at all. I guess you can cut them back. I cannot wait seeing the first tiny "dinner-plates" develop, although I am quite certain that I cannot expect them on the Rose of Sharon in the first year. Is this correct?
Kee, it is possible to water too much - it really depends on root ball size and weather. Down here in Moab we've had drying winds while you've had what we would love, healing rains.