(Update May 11) I am editing this because I have pictures to post now. I also have new information. I sprayed it with water-vinegar a couple of times and I don't think it helped it any. The leaves are greener (although some are still transparent). There are new leaves, but a lot of them are curled up, has black markings on them, or are transparent. If someone could help me so I could salvage my hibiscus, I would really appreciate it! 1st pic: what it looked like two weeks ago after I butchered it because it had all kind of scales and other bugs. 2nd pic: taken yesterday. i picked some leaves off my hibiscus to take closer pictures (and they had to be removed anyway). 3rd pic: shows transparency on the leaf (this is a fairly green leaf) 4th pic: what the plant looks like. *************************************** (May 4th) The leaves right now are almost TRANSPARENT and it has BLACK SPOTS. :( I've removed the worst black-spotted, transparent leaves. I haven't seen any bugs on it. ONE thing I did notice is that the soil looks rock hard, but it soaks in water really good. The soil looks like it drains well and it's been this way for two years. Does anyone have any idea what's going on with my Hibiscus? I heard it could be fungal... (and yesterday I sprayed it with water-vinegar mix). Thanks in advance.
The fourth pic looks pretty good, is that right now? You want to most pay attention to the very newest leaves coming out to give you a current picture. It does look like it could very well be fungal, but fungal problems are normally easily defeated by a healthy, properly-grown plant. So often a fungal problem is indicitive of a big-picture problem and a weak plant with reduced defenses. Hard soil with excellent drainage sounds like perhaps root bound. Is it time to repot? It could be failing to keep a reserve of moisture, and also could be suffering from nutrient deficiences if the soil is depleted. Vinegar also can cause problems in some cases. It is a straight acid, so for instance if it was watered into the soil it could cause the ph to really drop, and then several individual nutrients can become virtually locked up; and cause symptoms similar to what you see there.
Thanks, Tom. I will repot as soon as possible. Do you have any suggestion on what type of soil I could mix? I have regular potting soil, peat moss, perlite and commpost. I also have some sand. Could you also walk me through it? :) What I mean is, how do I go about repotting it? Do I clean/cut the roots (if there's any rotting going on or it is root-bound)? Do I fertilize it right away after planting? Thank you for your help!
