Something is not right, help me out!

12 years ago

Hi,

I bought this Hibiscus for my girlfriend 2 1/2 yrs. ago. I have no idea the type, but was hoping maybe someone will recognize it. I got it from 1-800-Flowers.com, it was a delivery, it was called a "Blooming Hibiscus". I transplanted this 2 times and had it on my patio for most of the last year or so. I live in Phoenix , Arizona. The plant bloomed awesome for a long time, and he still seems strong except for the dead portion of the leaves. I'm sure it needs a pruning and some nutrients, anyone have any idea what is causing the leaves to only die on a portion of the leaf? Also, I was thinking about putting this in my raised flower bed, which get's full sun. I'm just not sure if this type of Hibiscus can handle the Arizona summer.

Anyway, let me know what you all think. I'm attaching a few pictures of the current condition and some old pictures I took of its flowers.

Thanks,

Jon

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Comments (2)

TulsaRose
12 years ago
That looks like a Hibiscus syriacus, common names Althea or Rose of Sharon. I've never tried growing one in a container but the website listed below will give you some good tips.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rose of Sharon
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
12 years ago
A poor soil, over-watering, over-fertilizing, a high level of salts in the soil, or any combination of the former could be to blame. If you've never repotted, and I mean repotted as opposed to potting up, you probably have problems there, too. It needs pruning badly, too.

I would do a full repot, which includes bare rooting and root pruning, and get the plant into an appropriate soil. Make sure your fertilizer has P (the middle number) as the lowest %. 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers are good (like 24-8-16, 12-4-8, 9-3-6), especially if you supplement them with a pinch of potash, which essentially makes them closer to a 3:1:3 ratio.

Al