Hibiscus plants are beautiful flowering tropical shrubs, which if cared for properly will make a long lasting and striking addition to your garden!
Growing Hibiscus is not a hard task and once you know the basics you can grow them with great success!
For great Hibiscus the following should be considered
- Choose the right spot, Hibiscus like to have warm and sunny positions in the garden. If you opt for pot growing, you can move your pot to the best positions at different times of the year.
- Good quality organic soil will help your plant to grow to its maximum potential. When planting out in the garden, dig in some Living Earth Garden Mix.
- Windy conditions can cause root damage on a young plant. Choose a sheltered spot for your plant, and stake with 2 – 3 strong stakes and tie to the plant.
- Water deeply in the hotter months. Mulching is also beneficial. Apply in spring to help decrease water loss during the hot summer weather and apply again in autumn to keep the roots warm and help suppress weeds.
- Feed your Hibiscus well, especially when in flower! If indoors a weekly liquid feed, your outdoor plants will also benefit from a regular liquid feed with Kings Liquid Fast Food Fertiliser. They like to be fed with a high Potash fertiliser, Kings Rose Fertiliser is ideal, several times per year. Do this in spring, mid summer and autumn.
- Prune the plants in early spring when the chances of frost have gone. This
helps to maintain shape, remove dead wood and stimulate new growth. Cut your branches 1 – 2 cm above an eye – the place where a growing leaf meets the stem. Make sure that the eye points the way you want growth to go.
- Check your plants for insects regularly. The more hardy and older they get the less likely they are to have any infestations.
Hibiscus have a very long extended flowering period, sometimes even into late winter.
There are 4 main types of Hibiscus available…
- Fijian Hibiscus. These are the common and cold hardy variety. They are very easy to grow and usually do not loose their leaves in winter. They have smaller flowers than some other varieties.
- Clark’s Hybrid’s are New Zealand bread varieties by Jack Clark and are ideally suited to Auckland conditions. They are a cross between a Fijian and Hawaiian Hibiscus and have spectacular flowers on a hardier plant.
- Hawaiian Hibiscus. These are stunning large flowering beauties. They have more flamboyant blooms on a larger shrub.
- Hibiscus Syriacus are the 4th. A cold hardy, deciduous variety that are great for people who live in cooler areas, where you may get frosts in winter.
Also rarely available but worth looking for is Hibiscus Mutabilis. These grow 3 – 4 meters high and have large and very showy flowers that open a light pinky colour and then over a period of 2 – 3 days will change to a dark shade as they age. A great effect as you can have several different shade of flower on the same bush. Talk to one of the staff in store about these and see about ordering yours.
