Happy spring to our fellow hibiscus lovers!
It has been such a long, cold, cloudy spring that our plants and shipping are 2-3 weeks behind our normal schedule. But finally this last week, the sun has come out, and maybe our plants will now get themselves into gear! We hope to finish shipping all outstanding orders by the first week in June, although there are always a few stray, super slow plants.
Our feature article this month provides everything you need to know, both DOs and DON'Ts, for Caring for a Stressed Hibiscus Plant. There are a lot of myths out there about what to for sickly plants, and some of them will actually kill your hibiscus off! So don't believe what you hear and read! Hibiscus need very gentle care to get through stress, and we will teach you how to do this.
Our Hibiscus Doctor webpage is always on our website, under the Care section in the navigation bar at the left of any page in our store. But many people never find it, and we receive a lot of email asking us for help with basic hibiscus problems that the Hibiscus Doctor will tell you how to cure. So we have put it into this newsletter to help more people learn to use it. Remember that you can always find it on our website!
Don't forget to check out our newest Seedling of the Month! It's a new super giant that we think you'll like a lot!
Enjoy the warmth that's finally here!
Charles & Cindy Black
 
Hibiscus Care
Caring for a Stressed Plant
Despite our best care, hibiscus sometimes get stressed by life and circ*mstances. Pests attack them, and after we get rid of the pests, the plant is left in a somewhat stressed state. Unexpected or extreme heat, cold, drought, or flooding stress plants. Any kind of move to a new location stresses a plant, and this applies to the plants we ship too. Shipping stress falls right in this category, as does transplanting. Vacations with less-than-ideal plant sitters stress plants. Rambunctious puppies, cute little wild bunnies, the neighborhood kids' wayward bikes..... a million and one things can suddenly cause unexpected stress to your hibiscus plants. All of us need to know how to deal with a stressed plant, and sadly, there are a lot of myths in the gardening world about what to do in a case like this. So let's look at the DOs and DON'Ts of helping a stressed hibiscus.
First Do No Harm: DO NOT's . . .
Do Not Remove Any Green Leaves:
A stressed hibiscus plant ~ What should we do to help it?
Do Not Transplant:
Never transplant a stressed plant! Never! For some reason, gardeners are frequently told that transplanting will save a sick plant, but it's the exact opposite. Transplanting adds much more stress to an already-stressed plant. Even the most careful transplanting damages at least some roots, and the last thing a stressed plant needs is more damage of any kind. Additionally, transplanting means new soil, and often a new location, which means the plant has to expend energy getting used to this new environment at a time when it needs all its energy to deal with whatever it has already been through. Just leave the plant in its pot or in its spot in the ground, and disturb it as little as possible.
Do Not Fertilize:
A sick or stressed plant needs a break from dealing with fertilizer, even if it's just for a couple of weeks. Let it rest, chill, and deal only with completely innocuous clear water. Nitrogen is good for plants, but if a plant's system is not working well, it is stressful for the plant to deal with it. So stop fertilizing until you see crisp, green leaves and new growth.
Do Not Prune Unless You Have Tested and Know There is Rotten Wood:
If you don't know how to test for rotten wood, scroll to the bottom of our Pruning page and very carefully follow the directions to test each part of your hibiscus. Cut away only the rotten wood. Cut as little as possible. If there is no dead or rotten wood, do not prune! Pruning is stressful for a plant, and you don't want to add any additional stress to your plant at this point. Wait until it is fully growing and healthy in a couple of months before you do your pruning.
Help Your Plant Recover: DO's . . .
Do Remove Yellow Leaves:
Yellow leaves have lost all their chlorophyll and are no longer useful to the plant. Plus, they may harbor pests! So go ahead and remove all yellow leaves. Throw them away in a closed plastic bag and put the bag in your outside trash container in case there is anything that could contaminate your other plants.
It is normal for more leaves to continue yellowing for 2-3 days. Damage can take a few days to show up, so keep removing the leaves as they turn yellow.
Do Move Potted Plants out of the Sun:
If your plants are in pots, move them out of the sun. Find a spot that has bright shade - no direct sunlight at all, but close to the edge of the shade, so there is a lot of indirect light close by. Direct sunlight forces a plant to work at creating sugars, and a sick plant needs to take some time off from work to rest and recuperate, much like a human who takes a sick day to recover from an illness. Pulling a potted plant out of the sun gives it that kind of restful time off from its work.
If your sick plant is in the ground, try to give it some shade if you can - a big potted bush or object on the sunny side to shade it, or a bit of shade cloth draped over it. This may not always be possible, but if you can figure something out, you will help your plant recover more quickly.
Do Mist or Gently Shower Your Plants Frequently:
To provide extra hydration and humidity for your plants, mist them daily with a soft mist if you can. Just fill a spray bottle with water and thoroughly spray the plant on all sides of all the leaves, stalks and branches. If you have a lot of plants in a garden, and misting is not feasible, then use your garden hose or bugblaster and gently spray them every other day to thoroughly wet all parts of the plant. This accomplishes two things: 1) It helps hydrate all the top growth of the plants and reduces the need for the roots to work so hard to provide all the hydration the plants need, and 2) it helps prevent opportunistic pests that can get an easier foothold when your plant is ailing.
Do Use Growth Enhancer or Houseplant Formula:
Both of these products were designed with growth hormones and extra minerals to boost stressed plants and will help snap your plant out of the stress more quickly. Only use one of these products - they both contain some of the same ingredients, so you don't need both of them. But it is safe to use one of them every time you water your plants. These products often work when nothing else will work, and they give your hibiscus the best chance to recover from any kind of stress.
If you don't have one of these products, use only plain water. Do not use any other types of fertilizer. The higher levels of nitrogen will stress a sickly plant.
How Long Should I Do This?
Continue all these strategies with your plants until you see your plant perk up and create new green leaves. Resist the temptation to stop all your recovery activities at the first signs of new growth. Hold steady and keep providing all these supports until the new growth shows actual small branches with multiple green leaves.
At this point, you can GRADUALLY start returning to normal.
Slowly and gradually start moving your plant back into the sun. Take 2-3 weeks to slowly get it back into full sun, if full sun is where you want it to end up.
Start giving it tiny doses of fertilizer and booster that you gradually increase over 2-3 weeks until you get back to your normal, full fertilizer regimen.
To be on the safe side, continue misting or showering, but slowly cut down the number of times per week that you do it. It is actually best for hibiscus to be misted or showered once a week even when they are healthy, so if this starts a healthy, new habit, your hibiscus will love you for it!
Do not transplant or prune for a long time. Your hibiscus may be recovering nicely, but now is not the time to add any additional stress at all. Wait as long as you possibly can to prune or transplant at this point!
Healthy hibiscus plants with lots of glossy, green leaves and flowers
 
Hibiscus Plant Care
Hibiscus Doctor
This Hibiscus Doctor page is on our website, under the Care section in the left navigation bar. Most people don't know it's there and don't find it, so we thought it might help to remind everyone that it's always there. It's the first place to go when your plant is showing the first signs of anything wrong. Links for each problem will take you to a page to help you solve the problem. There are too many large insects (what we call macro insects)all over the world to list them all here, so these are just the most common micro insects that bother hibiscus. We hope our Hibiscus Doctor helps!
Symptoms | Cause | |
| White spots or patches on leaves, and plant has recently been put in direct sun →   | Sunburn |
| Brown edges on leaves, and plant has recently been heavily fertilized →   | Fertilizer Burn |
| Buds discolor and fall off before blooming during the flowering season →   | Thrips |
| Buds turn bright yellow while still tiny and fall off before blooming during the flowering season →   |   Hibiscus Gall Midge |
| Scratch marks on flower petals in midsummer or fall→   | Thrips |
| Leaves stipple, turn yellow, fall off, AND conditions are very warm and dry, inside a house or outside in dry summer heat →   | Spider Mites |
| Tiny webs on stems & tips, AND leaves stipple, turn yellow, fall off, AND conditions are very warm and dry, inside a house or outside in dry summer heat →   | Spider Mites |
| Leaves turn yellow and fall off until plant is defoliated, soil is neither too wet nor too dry, AND conditions are very warm and dry, inside a house or outside in dry summer heat →   |     Spider Mites |
| White cottony mess on leaves AND shaking branches makes tiny white insects fly out →   | Whiteflies |
| Tiny bright white insects fly out of hibiscus when leaves are shaken →   |   Whiteflies |
| Black, white, yellow, brown, or green insects on buds, flowers or leaves →   |   Aphids |
| Black, white, yellow, brown, or green insects on buds, flowers or leaves →   |   Aphids |
| Small, white cottony spots on leaves →   | Mealybugs |
| Tiny, bright white spots on bark →   | Snow Scale |
| Tiny, black flying gnats around plant →   | Fungus Gnats |
| One wilted branch on an otherwise healthy plant →   | Dieback Disease |
| Plant defoliating from tip, moving down stem while rest of plant is healthy →   |   Dieback Disease |
| Entire plant suddenly wilts, soil is very dry, leaves turn yellow or brown →   | Underwatering |
| Entire plant suddenly wilts, soil is wet, leaves stay green, then slowly darken →   | Wilt Disease |
| Entire plant suddenly wilts and collapses, soil is very wet, leaves stay green, then darken quickly →   | Drowning - Overwatering |
| Black spots on leaves →   | Leaf Fungus |
| Yellowing leaves that fall off, dark spots in green leaves, in a hibiscus that is outside in winter chill and rain →   | |
| Oldest leaves turn yellow with dark green veins, young leaves stay green →   | Magnesium Deficiency |
| Youngest leaves turn yellow with dark green veins, older leaves stay green →   | Iron Deficiency |
 
Seedling of the Month...
Sometimes the flowers of giant hibiscus can have form that's a bit wild due to the huge expanse of petal. But this new seedling somehow manages to have the beautiful form that both its parents have, even with the enormous size, and it even has a bit of ruffling and tufting! We're not sure yet if it will always have this beautiful form, but so far it has been consistently great!
Apart from the huge flower size and beautiful form, one of the nicest things about this new seedling is the beautiful, full, lush bush that these two parents gave their offspring. The flowers are dark, dark green, huge and glossy. Even without flowers, this bush is gorgeous. So all in all, we have hopes for our May seedling. We don't know yet if we'll ever have it for sale, but we hope someday we do!
