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08/19/2021 12:01 AMI just love my Hibiscus plants, nothing says summer and makes you think of the tropics like the hibiscus plant.
This tropical plant can produce bright, colorful blooms. But this year my blooms were falling off before they opened.
After looking into the reasons why this might be happening, I thought others might be as well. So here are a few reasons why this may be happening and how we can prevent it from happening.
The first reason might be improper watering. Hibiscus like moist, well-drained soil. You want the soil to feel damp but not soaking wet. If the roots of the plant are too wet, this can cause root rot and cause the blooms to fall.
It’s also a problem if the plant has too little water. When the plant is under-watered, the leaves will wilt and the blooms can fall.
But if your plant looks healthy, there are other reasons your plants flowers are falling.
It could be that the weather is simply too hot. Even though the hibiscus is a tropical plant, it can get too hot for them to grow properly. As we all know, tropical plants are used to a lot of humidity, but temperatures usually run under 90 degrees. The humidity makes it seem hotter when it’s not, like when you are in the tropics. When temps are higher, it will scorch the leaves and damage the flowers that are budding.
Hibiscus plants like to grow in temperatures are between 60 and 90 degrees. This summer we’ve had several days over 90 degrees. In this case we just have to wait it out. With the return of cooler weather, the flowers will stop falling off and your hibiscus will once again bloom.
Another reason: If you are over-fertilizing your plant, this can cause the blooms to fall. The hibiscus does well with a little fertilizer. Choose a fertilizer that is high in potassium. Avoid fertilizers with phosphorus; this can damage the plant.
Finally, watch out for the dreaded pests. Thrips are a pest will feed on the buds of your plant, causing them to fall off before they even open. To check for this pest, take an unopened bud and gently tap it on a piece of white paper to see if anything comes out. Thrips look like black specks that will move once on the paper. To rid your plant of thrips, apply a liquid insecticide to the blooms. For best results, use an insecticide that contains permethrin or bifenthrin.
Hibiscus midges don’t eat the plant as adults but lay their eggs in unopened blooms. When the larvae emerge, they feed on the inside of the bud. They are very hard to see with the naked eye, so that makes it difficult to determine if this is the reason. If you have ruled out every other reason, apply a liquid systemic insecticide to the plant; this will kill the larvae embedded in the unopened blooms. Use a formula that contains acephate, disyston, or imidacloprid.
And, yes, we hate to use insecticides. Please use them only as a very last resort.
There are more than 200 different species of hibiscus, and these steps might help you enjoy yours.
Check out The North Haven Garden Club on Facebook for lots of useful and entertaining information and pictures. The North Haven Garden Club is a member of The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut Inc., New England Garden Clubs Inc., and The National Garden Clubs Inc.