Providing your garden with a tropical flair, the hibiscus plants are one of the easiest plants to take care of. However, if you are relatively new to gardening, it will be better for you to learn how to grow and care for the hibiscus plant so that they can grow and thrive healthily.
People grow hibiscus plants in their gardens and inside their homes as well. These plants are considered houseplants. These beautiful plants have various types. In fact, there are almost 200 types of hibiscus plants available out there. However, the four broad categories of these plants are tropical hibiscus, hardy hibiscus, native hibiscus, and roselle.
Following are a few important tips that you can follow in order to grow and care for your hibiscus plants. Once you follow these tips in the right manner, it will pay off with amazing blooming flowers that will enhance the beauty of your garden and your house.
Choosing The Right Hibiscus Plant:
The first thing to ensure is that you choose the right hibiscus plant according to your requirements. If you are planning to grow hibiscus plants indoors, then you must opt for the plant that is best for indoor conditions.
Though most of the hibiscus plants are suitable for indoor conditions, and you have a huge range of plants to choose from, however, the Chinese Hibiscus is deemed as one of the best plants for indoors.
As these plants are tropical, you can keep them outdoors during the summer and indoors during winter. In winters, you need to be a little more careful with regard to the light that these plants receive. Make sure that they get enough sunlight. You can also make use of artificial lights for that purpose.
Place Hibiscus Plants Where There Is Adequate Sunlight:
As mentioned earlier, you need to ensure that these plants get enough sunlight, especially during winter. Placing your houseplants in the south-facing window will be a better approach.
Grow Hibiscus In Lightweight Soil:
It is not essential, but better to grow hibiscus in lightweight soil. One of the best lightweight soil for your hibiscus plants would be loam. You can also consider peat moss. In fact, you can create the best soil condition for your plant by mixing the pest moss and loam with one part bark or sand.
Moreover, you can also add worm castings to the soil due to the reasons that they are richer than compared to regular compost. As this is rich in nutrition, it can help your hibiscus plants to grow healthily.
Fertilize Your Hibiscus Plants:
Fertilizing plants is an important part of growing and taking care of them. The same goes for the hibiscus plants as well. You are required to fertilize your plants on a regular basis and for that reason, it will be a good idea to create a schedule and follow it religiously.
Undoubtedly, fertilizing hibiscus is important, but you need to ensure that you are using light fertilizer solutions for your plants. A balanced fertilizer would be an ideal choice for hibiscus plants. Moreover, fertilizing your hibiscus plants four times a year would be enough as well. In case you are using a water-soluble fertilizer, you may need to increase the frequency of fertilizing your plants to every alternate week.
Prune Your Hibiscus Plants:
As a gardener, everyone must know about pruning the plants. If you don’t, then there is nothing to worry about. It is never too late to learn how to prune hibiscus.
With regard to pruning hibiscus, the better approach would be to prune it during the early spring. Pruning can offer you a lot of benefits. It will help in promoting the growth of new blooms and will make your plant look fascinating as well. When you plan to prune your plants, make sure you do not do that during the winter seasons. The cold can deteriorate the condition of your hibiscus plant.
Keep Your Hibiscus Plant Away From Pests:
Pests can prove out to be dangerous for your hibiscus plants. Three of the main types of pests that you may see around your hibiscus plants would be Aphids, Thrips, and Whiteflies.
You can check out for Aphids around the foliage of the plants, and you can detect Whiteflies underside the leaves. You should also check the buds as you may find some Thrips over there. It is an ideal location for them to lay eggs.
If you identify these pests, make sure to get rid of them as soon as possible. You can eliminate them using an insecticidal soap solution. You can make this solution using water and castile soap.
Take care of your hibiscus plants by following these tips, and soon you will notice the beautiful blooms that would be worth the effort you put in. The process may be long, but the end results will surely make you feel good.
Caring for hibiscus plants is very simple and straightforward. All you need to do is to regularly monitor your plant and follow the aforementioned tips, you will be good to go.
