I live in Dallas, TX where we are in the middle of a VERY bad heat wave. I have been diligent about watering my plants, especially my gigantic hibiscus, which until a couple days ago, was doing just fine. Now, no matter how much I water it, it is VERY wilty and some of the leaves are drying up... Please help?! It is a very big plant at the front of my house and im not sure what to do? Keep on giving it extra water? Could I be watering it too much bc its so hot outside?
Check your soil moisture level with your digital moisture meter (finger!). If moist in the morning don't water that day. Instead try to shade the plant from the sun from 1PM til dusk. I feel your pain; day 56 of over 100F. this Summer here in Austin. 24 days in a row at or above 100!
I found my young hibiscus in the green house with similar appearance. IE: Wilty, leaves yellowing and falling. Turns out the lady bugs that I immediately introduced to the greenhouse took good care of the problem. My hibiscus looked great the next day. Problem was aphids. Check carefully. If you find aphids the problem (or white fly) and don't have access to a good quantity of lady bugs, simply spray off with a hose. With the plant in the shade, spray with some soapy water. Wait a few minutes and then rinse with the hose again. I had to do this to my hibiscus early summer. Turns out the aphids love this plant more than any other that I have in the green house. Hope this helps. PS: Too much water disallows for needed oxygen. Allowing the plant to dry out a little may be a good idea as well. IE: Skip a day of watering. It wont hurt the plant. Just keep an eye on it.
thank you! Yes I double checked for bugs and cant seem to find any but maybe a good spray down would be a great idea! Yea I think im going to take a day break from watering, but the weird thing is half the branches are just fine (full, perky, healthy), but then another branch wilted then today are completely crispy... like the plant just decided those branches dont need water anymore... any ideas?
Since there are no bugs, I agree with the possibility of root rot. I would take the plant out of the post and inspect the root base. If you find that some roots are mushy, try to salvage that which is not and re-pot. Go easy on the watering. Depending on the size of pot. My hibiscus is in a 5 gallon so I water it every 2-3 days, during these hot sunny summer days. I think the key is to allow the soil to dry out some between waterings perhaps.
Depends on if it's Tropical (IE H. rosa-sinensis) or hardy (IE H. moscheutos, H. syriacus ). Tropicals must be containerized so they can survive our freezes (indoors). H.moscheutos can stay in the ground but requires much more frequent watering and a bit of PM shade. H. syriacus is hardy and requires a period of drying between waterings to avoid root rot.
