Any tips on growing hibiscus?

PatMicklewaite

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I just purchased a hibiscus plant since the flowers are supposed to be really good for tortos, I'm not great with gardening but getting there, any tips on keeping it alive would help. I've managed to maintain a mini lime tree going even after the LA heat wave so I'm not hopeless.
 

TriciaStringer

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I just purchased a hibiscus plant since the flowers are supposed to be really good for tortos, I'm not great with gardening but getting there, any tips on keeping it alive would help. I've managed to maintain a mini lime tree going even after the LA heat wave so I'm not hopeless.
Make sure you bought it from an organic nursery. I know they can’t eat it right away if you bought it from Home Depot type places. If you did, you need to replant it and give it a year before feeding it to your tortoise.

On to your question, hibiscus love full sun. Give it lots of water. I don’t live in your climate so I’m sure someone else will chime in about California.
 

Momof4

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Good question!! I have had bad luck with mine!
They don’t grow and the leaves are sparse but I get flowers?!?! So weird!
I hope someone can help us.
 

ZEROPILOT

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What I do here in so Florida is water them daily as small plants.
Once established I 100% ignore them.
When it rains, they get water.
They're VERY HARDY. Yet prone to insect attacks.
 

Yvonne G

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I have two in a greenhouse where it gets VERY hot. They require daily watering, but are growing great guns!! this was two years ago when they were first planted and became infested with some sort of sucking insect:

hibiscus d.jpg hibiscusc.jpg

And here they are today:

hibiscus 7-23-18 a.jpg hibiscus 7-23-18 b.jpg hibiscus 7-23-18 c.jpg

they're in full sun, however, the sun is shining through coroplast. They get watered every other day. They are protected from the frost.
 

PatMicklewaite

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I have two in a greenhouse where it gets VERY hot. They require daily watering, but are growing great guns!! this was two years ago when they were first planted and became infested with some sort of sucking insect:
Those are big! The one I got is small now, how big should I expect it to get? I'll be putting it on my balcony in a pot, the lime tree seems to thrive that way as well so far
 

Maro2Bear

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Lol it doesn't rain ever here so maybe once a week watering once it's established?

Hmmm. Might require daily watering if in pots, less if in the ground. But plenty of water will ensure goood leaf and flower growth. We were in a mini drought since early July and i needed to water ours daily.

Good luck! Happy flowering!

Here is one of our Lord Baltimore hibiscus flowers..

6238C397-4B81-4D3D-93D3-6359179C34C8.jpeg
 

PatMicklewaite

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Make sure you bought it from an organic nursery. I know they can’t eat it right away if you bought it from Home Depot type places. If you did, you need to replant it and give it a year before feeding it to your tortoise.

On to your question, hibiscus love full sun. Give it lots of water. I don’t live in your climate so I’m sure someone else will chime in about California.
I just got it at Orchard Hardware, but I don't expect it to flower right away it's pretty small right now. If it does I'll leave it for a year before feeding him, I like hibiscus so I'll be the experimenter I guess, I've been putting it in homemade ciders.
 

PatMicklewaite

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Hmmm. Might require daily watering if in pots, less if in the ground. But plenty of water will ensure goood leaf and flower growth. We were in a mini drought since early July and i needed to water ours daily.

Good luck! Happy flowering!

Here is one of our Lord Baltimore hibiscus flowers..

View attachment 245927
Gotcha, it's still a small plant now so I'll water it daily. I'm excited for it I love hibiscus! Here it is at the moment, I am nervous about putting it outside with the forecast for the week pushing 100F

Edit: Please don't judge the outdoor plants, they took a beating during the last heat wave a few weeks ago and are slowly recovering =(

IMG_4391.JPG
 

Jacqui

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Gotcha, it's still a small plant now so I'll water it daily. I'm excited for it I love hibiscus! Here it is at the moment, I am nervous about putting it outside with the forecast for the week pushing 100F

Edit: Please don't judge the outdoor plants, they took a beating during the last heat wave a few weeks ago and are slowly recovering =(

Ah a tropical one it looks like. While the rest all seem to be saying sun, here I have better luck with some shade.
 

Redfool

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I have about twenty hibiscus bushes that were grown from cuttings “acquired” from neighbors and other peoples yards. The largest are in full sun but have some five footers growing under my oak trees just fine. They are cold tolerant to about 36 degrees which makes their leaves turn yellow and drop. They do rebound in warm weather. If you want winter flowers you must water, the rest of the year requires no maintenance.
IMG_3511.jpg
 

Erik Elvis

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I’m new to planting things also. I have my hibiscus in full sun and I have learned they like a good bit of water or they start getting droopy. I also started growing optunia cactus. Also keep that in full sun but haven’t quite figured out how much water it likes yet.
 

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