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hzdeleted_19692433

Is it me or are tropical

User
17 years ago

hibiscus extremely high maintance?

My poor tropical was so beautiful last summer and I grew it from being real small last winter.

This winter it lost all of its leaves and now it is a stalk.

I made sure all the bugs were killed all summer long.

I moved it out of full sun when necessary.

I love this plant, but for me I just feel the work is getting to me now.

I did transplant it to a big terra cotta pot in the middle of the summer last year. It was doing fine in it.

It receives full sun. I thought mabey I overwatered it when I brought it in in October, the nights started to get cool.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

It receives full daytime sunlight where it is, although now the sun goes down around 4:30 p.m. here.

The new growth is still green, but not one leaf.

Sorry if I sound like I am whining.

I'm just disgusted because I really tryed to take care of this plant.

Comments (2)

  • audrey_gw
    17 years ago

    Tropical hibiscus plants frequently drop quite a few leaves when brought into the house in the fall. It's their way of adapting to new light levels inside. But they do usually put out new leaves fairly quickly. Perhaps the window is too cold for it? If so, it may have fallen into dormancy.

    I have several tropical hibiscuses and keep the shorter ones under grow-lights during the winter, where they get about 16 hours of light per day. The largest, however, is in a big front window and does quite well there too. It has some smaller houseplants between it and the glass, which may help keep it from getting chilled! I've found the tropical hibiscuses to be quite tough plants, and they often produce a few blooms during the winter.

    If you have any kind of light that stays on for most of the day, you might want to try setting the plant under it to see if that provokes a change. If not, you might just want to keep your hibiscus dormant all winter and try to get it going again in the spring. (In that case it would probably be best to put it in a cool, dim spot and water it only sparingly.)

  • User
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thank you Audrey.
    You made me feel alot better.
    I am going to put a shop light over it also to reinforce the light. It isn't getting enough light I guess due to our short days now.
    This plant is extremely difficult to grow for some reason, but when it blooms in the summer it is so gorgeous!
    Thanks again for your reply.

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