Tropical Hibiscus Problem

hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA

13 years ago

Wondering if anyone else in the S. Calif/San Diego area has had this happen to their hibiscus. Many of my tropical hibiscus (but not all) developed yellow leaves with black spots, which all dropped off, as well as branch tip die back. It happened after all the rain we had down here. It has resolved, now, and I've picked up all the dead leaves and trimmed back the dead branches. Obviously some sort of fungal infection, just curious as to what fungus. And what's the best way to prevent this from happening again with another prolonged wet period. I'm going to try to innoculate all my hibiscus with mycorrhizae, so I really don't want to spray with a fungicide, as this would kill off the beneficial mycorrhiaze. I know collecting all the infected leaves is a must, and disposing of the infected leaves away from the property is a must, too. Anyone have this happen and knows what it is??

Patty S.

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Comments (2)

Voodoomagic
13 years ago
This is normal for tropical hibiscus. In the winter they will get black spots and the yellow leaves are from too much water. They will be ok once spring comes. If you want to not have this happen again I suggest putting them in pots and bringing them in when winter comes. I live in So cal and I winter all my hibiscus.
hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
Original Author
13 years ago
Boy, I have never had this happen to this degree. I'm wondering if it is due to splashing up from the soil, and if I mulch more heavily with bark that might reduce the fungal contamination. I've got about 30 to 40 hibiscus planted in my yard, so there's NO way I'm going to pot that all up! I wouldn't begin to have that kind of room in my garage, either lol!! But, I think I'll mulch, and also try to innoculate everything with mycorrhizae. I've got about 1/2 of them already innoculated. That should help keep the bad fungus in check, if the mycorrhizae can populate, they'll compete for space with the bad stuff, and hopefully crowd it out next winter when we get our rains.

Patty S.