Potted Hibiscus

Lord Baltimore (red) Hardy Perennial Hibiscus	Super Rose (Pink) Hardy Perennial Hibiscus	Helene Rose of Sharon - 4" Pot

Potted Hibiscus

Manyof us live in colder places where we are unable to plant hibiscus in the garden, for us we can grow and keep hibiscus happy for years to come in planters in our home.

Potted hibiscus are just right for all of us that live in colder areas, but love our tropical plants.

It has been shown that potted hibiscus live and stay happy for years in pots as small as ten inches, this is very convenient because they are easy to pick up and move around.

If you plan to keep caring for potted hibiscus the potting mix is very important. There inexpensive products but this type of mix dooms hibiscus to a short life and poor performance. These cheap mixes are often to heavy and hold to much water. For potted hibiscus instead what is needed is a soil less potting mix, like HVH potting mix. A good mix is made of coco coir, peat moss, or composted bark to hold moisture and nutrients, along with sand to give good drainage. Add organic material that are very beneficial in the potting mix. Using high quality potting mix with organic material is crucial for caring for and keeping potted hibiscus healthy and blooming for many years to come.

Any time we keep potted hibiscus in less than perfect conditions we need to maximize nutrition to help reduce stress the plant experiences. Start with a good hibiscus fertilizer that has all the nutrients potted hibiscus need with as few contaminants as possible. Potted hibiscus prefer a light fertilizing on a frequent schedule. So if you have time to fertilize every time you water, this is the best way to keep your potted hibiscus happy. The idea is to use as much fertilizer as you can without causing fertilizer burn.

If you can afford it, a growth enhancer is another option you can add to your nutritional program for your potted hibiscus. Growth enhancers provide different types of nutrition than fertilizers. They are loaded with hormones and anti stress proteins the plants them self produce.

Another nutritional product you may want to use is extra potassium, such as is found in hibiscus boaster. Hibiscus are voracious users of potassium. If they become deficient of this, their flowers will slowly diminish in size, number, and color until they stop blooming all together. The more stressful the conditions your potted hibiscus live in the more potassium they will need.

Pruning is extremely important when you have potted hibiscus. The shape of the plant will be determined by how well you keep it pruned. The more branches you encourage your plant to grow, the more it will flower.

Think about which direction you want the branches to grow and what kind of all over shape each branch you leave will give your plant. If you want a branch to grow up to fill a space near the top of the plant, look node that is on top side of the branch you're pruning, and prune just above the node. This will force a fill in. Look at each node, and think where that branch growing from that node will grow out, then pick the node that looks like it will create a branch in the shape you want. Its more of an art than anything.

Potted hibiscus final step to happiness, is to prune the roots every couple years. To check your plants roots, gently ease the pot off the plants root ball. If the roots are circling the bottom of the pot and form a solid mass at the bottom, it is time to prune. Root pruning is easy. Using a very sharp knife that has been sterilized with alcohol, slice off the bottom two inches of the root ball add two inches of potting mix plop plant back in water you are done.