Transform Your Garden with the Vibrant Beauty of Tropical Hibiscus

Tropical hibiscus, scientifically known as Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, is a showstopper in any garden. Here are the essential tips to success with hibiscus. With its large, colorful blooms and lush green foliage, this plant brings a touch of the tropics to your backyard. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or a beginner, growing hibiscus can be a rewarding experience. These stunning flowers enhance the aesthetic appeal of your garden and attract pollinators like butterflies and hummingbirds.

Choices, Care, And Exotic Varieties

Hibiscus rosa-sinesis (Rose of China) is the tropical hibiscus, the one with large flowers and mind-boggling color choices. It has the longest list of cultivars. You can grow these in a warm climate (zone 9-11) or in containers as annuals or they are small enough to spend the winter indoors. This is the evergreen hibiscus and is a plant well worth growing and can live for over 40 years.

The second main category is Hibiscus moscheutos, the Swamp mallow. This one is hardy in zones 5-9. Here is a quick guide to the differences.

Name	Hibiscus rosa-sinesis (Tropical)	Hibiscus moscheutos (Hardy)
Zone	9-11	5-9
Size	usually 8-15′ (taller in tropical areas) 5-8′ w	3′ 12′(rose of Sharon)
Blossom	most var. orange, salmon peach, yellow (not seen in hardy, include double blossoms	white, red, pink, bicolor, no double blossoms

Your Hibiscus Choices in Cooler Climates

If you garden in a cooler climate with a freeze in winter you have two hibiscus choices.

• You will find many varieties of Rose of Sharon that are acclimated in your climate.
• You can bring your potted tropical hibiscus indoors for the winter. Here are the steps to grow your plant indoors.
   
  Bringing Plants Indoors
  Move your hibiscus indoors before the first frost. Tropical hibiscus plants cannot tolerate freezing temperatures. Always take the time to acclimate your plants to their new environments.
  Provide light and warmth.
  Place your hibiscus near a window with lots of bright light, like a south or southwest window. You can also consider a garage, shed, or utility room with some windows to let in sunlight. To keep the temperature above freezing, you can use a small heater with a thermostat. 
  Water consistently
  Keep the soil moist, but don’t let the plant sit in water. 
  Reduce watering and fertilizing
  During the adjustment period, you can reduce watering and don’t need to fertilize until you see new growth. 
  Repot in the spring
  When you bring your hibiscus back outside in the spring, you can repot it in fresh potting mix and prune back any leggy growth. 
  Acclimate to the outdoors
  In the spring, you can gradually move your hibiscus back outside into full sun after the risk of frost has passed. 
  Protect from pests
  Check for insects before bringing your hibiscus inside, as they can attract whitefly, spider mites, and scale insects. This is true of any plants that move to new environments. Taking the time to acclimate your plants will protect both the plant that is moving and your other plants too.

Tropical Hibiscus-Essential Tips, Blossoms, Forms and Shapes

The Hibiscus Blossoms

The large and eye-catching blossom of the tropical hibiscus is the feature most people seek out. The flowers come in many sizes, including some quite large, there are singles and doubles. We grow some which appear to be two separate flowers joined together. They come with ruffled edges, which can be one color, and the centers are of other colors. The flowers are trumpet-shaped with dramatic protruding stamens.

The Shrub Form

The plant comes in a shrub form that, can vary in size and shape depending on the cultivar and where it’s grown:

• Size: Tropical hibiscus shrubs can grow to be 8-16 feet tall, (2.5–5 meters) (8–16 ft) tall and to 5-10 feet wide (1.5–3 meters) wide. However, they can grow to be as tall as 20–30 ft in tropical climates but are usually half that size in home gardens. 
• Shape: Tropical hibiscus shrubs are bushy and evergreen, with an upright, branched growth habit.  
• Leaves : Tropical hibiscus leaves are ovate in shape, with serrated margins and glossy surfaces. 
• Flowers: Tropical hibiscus flowers are large, trumpet-shaped, and come in a wide variety of colors, including white, pink, red, and orange. They bloom from late spring to fall, and nearly year-round in frost-free climates.

The Tree Form Plant

There are tree forms, which can be kept small in pots or grown in the ground. Single trunks and braided trunks are available. Some have different colors braided together. (In our Zone 10 South Florida garden the tree form hibiscus that are several years old are about 12 feet in height.)

Growth Habits

• Evergreen: Tropical hibiscus trees are evergreen in warm climates and will stay green and blooming in warm climates.
• The plant can easily be trained to the shape you desire if you start early

Good Ways to Use Hibiscus in the Garden

Use your beautiful hibiscus anywhere in the garden. Put them near a patio where you can enjoy them when you sit out, and use them around your entrance gateways and wherever you want a lovely focal point.

Borders and Hedges: Hibiscus will make a flower-filled hedge or border any area you want to enclose.

Attract wildlife. Hibiscus is a wildlife magnet. Small groups of hibiscus plants scattered around the garden will keep the entire space teeming with butterflies and hummingbirds

The Fancy Exotic Tropical Hibiscus

These are small cultivars, they are hybrid crosses with larger, fancier, and more complex flowers than the classic landscape types. You keep them, inside the house or outside for the flower. The colors range from vivid to completely astounding! Some have a metallic appearance.

I wanted to buy one for my mother’s birthday. The grower said you get one wonderful bloom at a time. If it’s ready to bloom and your mom needs to go to the doctor, tell her to take it with her, right in her purse. It can bloom in the office. She did and it did!

If the exotic hibiscus appeals to you this is a link to a breeder from whom we have purchased beautiful plants.

Growing Conditions

The tropical hibiscus plants will perform best in well-drained soil.

It is best grown in full sun except in very warm climates where some afternoon shade can be beneficial. A steady supply of water is important but with good drainage.

In containers, use a potting mix high in organic matter. Keep the same, moist but well-drained environment.

Growing Your Tropical Hibiscus in Containers 

Hibiiscus are very successful as potted plants. The extra caveat is to remember that the potted plant has no resources of its own. It cannot send out roots to find water and nutrients. It thrives on what you put in the pot.

Container Size: Choose a pot that is 1–2 inches wider and deeper than the plant’s root ball. Avoid deep pots, as the plant will focus more on root growth than flower production. 

Potting Mix: Use a lightweight, well-drained potting mix that contains compost and perlite or vermiculite. Add fresh mix when you repot your plant.

Drainage: Make sure the pot has drainage holes in the bottom to prevent root rot.  

Planting: Place 1–2 inches of potting mix in the bottom of the pot, then gently remove the hibiscus from its nursery pot and place it in the container. The top of the root ball should be 1–2 inches below the rim of the pot. Fill in the rest of the pot with potting mix, gently tamping down as you plant. This will remove air pockets. Water until moisture comes out of the drainage holes. 

Sunlight: Place a newly-planted hibiscus in the shade for about two weeks to adjust, then move it into bright sunlight. 

Watering: Hibiscus plants love water, but you should avoid over-watering. 

Fertilizer: Hibiscus exist to bloom, and you will fertilize them. If feeding weekly they need water-soluble fertilizer at a rate of one tsp. per gallon. Hibiscus performs best with frequent, small fertilizer applications. Fertilize when the plant is damp which will protect it from fertilizer burn. For plants in containers, we use a convenient product that we spray on with the water hose.

How do I Know When to Repot My Hibiscus?

Look for these signs: visible roots growing out of the drainage holes. The plant appears rootbound, with roots circling the pot. The soil dries out quickly after watering, or the plant feels top heavy due to an overcrowded root ball. This means it’s time to repot.

Pruning Your Hibiscus

To maintain blossoms you can prune every 4-6 weeks. Take 2-3 branches from the various sides of the plant. Cut these low and cut just above an outward-facing branch. This will encourage outward growth which will maintain airflow through the plant. This will help the plant to resist disease.

This should allow you a continuous display of flowers while maintaining the health of the plant, Prune hibiscus in spring after the danger of frost has passed and before the summer heat arrives.

Deadheading Spent Blossoms

If you get into the habit of spending a few minutes, daily if possible, in just walking around the garden and observing your plants this is a perfect time to deadhead. Simply removing the spent blossoms will allow more new blossoms.

Propagation From Trimmings

If you like your hibiscus, don’t throw away the cuttings. Make some more plants for yourself or for gifts. Trim the cutting to about 4″-6″ using only the newly grown material. Remove all but the top 3 leaves. Dip the bottom in rooting hormone and place it in a small pot in well-drained soil.

A mix of potting soil and perlite works well. You can put several root cuttings in one pot. Keep the soil damp not wet until the roots grow -about 8 weeks. At this time you can move the plants to larger pots. Cuttings should be in a place that is warm and humid and not in direct sunlight. Prepare several starter plants, we never expect them “all” to grow. The plants you grow will be duplicates of the parent.

Pests and Disease

Actively growing plants are healthy plants. In the case of hibiscus, this means fed and moist but not wet and in comfortable surroundings. Plants are like us, if we are healthy we have a better chance of resisting disease.

Pests are in categories based on how the pest feeds

Learn as much as you can about Integrated Pest Management

This is a broad-based approach to managing pest damage using the most economical method first to produce the least hazard. It requires regular observation. By daily observation, I can see the first approach of a pest or problem. Often just by removing the pest or damaged leaves, I can solve the problem without using a chemical. If that does not work I might try washing the pest off with water before going to the next level.

Chewing Pests-these are caterpillars and grasshoppers. Remove them as soon as they are spotted. You can do this with your hands.

Sucking Pests- these pierce the surface of the leaf and drink the sap. These include aphids. mealybugs, scale insects, and mites. Mealybugs are important as the residue they leave behind attracts ants. When discovered, remove the initial insects by removing leaves, using hard sprays of water. If an insecticide is needed, start with insecticidal soaps, or horticultural oils. Use products containing acephate. UGA Extension

Disease

Leaf Spot is caused by various strains of fungus. This appears as discoloration, spots on foliage, and possibly leaf dropping. If you can remove the black spots they are most likely pests. Destroy the damaged leaves.

Rot- is caused by a fungus and usually indicates soggy soil. Prepare the site before planting. This includes removing any old root material

Blights- To avoid this keep good airflow (see pruning notes) avoid overhead water.

Virus viruses do appear, from time to time and it seems to be important to use virus-tested stock in plantings. The best way to avoid damage is by keeping healthy plants.

How Did This Wonderful Plant Get To Us

European explorers found ornamental hibiscus near Chinese temples and palaces. A double red variety was cultivated in London (Chelsea Physic Garden) in 1731. Later travelers noticed that in various parts of the Pacific people identified with the hibiscus in cultural and religious traditions,

Eventually, in Hawaii in the early 20th century the development of new plants really started. The Chinese plants were crossbred with plants from Mozambique, Tanzania, and Kenya. By 1914 a flower show was able to display 400 different offerings. The growth and demand for new and exotic colors and forms has never ended.

Summary,

In terms of care, tropical hibiscus plants need protection from cold temperatures, as they are sensitive to frost. If you live in a cooler climate, consider growing them in containers that can be brought indoors during winter. Keep an eye out for common pests like aphids and spider mites, and treat infestations promptly with insecticidal soap or neem oil. With proper care, tropical hibiscus can become a stunning centerpiece in your garden, offering a constant display of vibrant colors and lush foliage throughout the growing season. Whether planted in the ground or in containers, these plants are sure to bring a touch of the tropics to your home.

By following these care guidelines you can enjoy the stunning beauty of tropical hibiscus flowers in your garden.

This piece brings one of the many tropical flowering plants to you. For a survey of tropical foliage plants read this.