my hibiscus hurts

Discussion in 'Hibiscus' started by thehandshake, Jan 3, 2009.

  1. thehandshake

    thehandshake Member

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    hi everyone,

    i am new and inexperienced so be easy on me.
    yesterday i bought this huge hibiscus tree that you see in the pictures for $15 and it was healthy but did not have flowers. it was just a little bigger than the pot you see it in now and i broke off some of the small roots on the side in order for it to fit into the pot.
    i wake up this morning and all the leaves are dying... they look all dried up and ready to fall.
    i saw that the roots were exposed because i couldn't put it all the way in, so this morning i got dirt from other plants and covered them and put some water on it.
    i have a healthy one, so i know what they looks like...
    what can i do to save this tree?
    is it died?
    is it going to die?
    have i killed the roots structure?
    can it be repaired?
    when you break off some of the roots does it take time for the whole tree to regroup?
    can i expect for all the leaves to fall off?
    can you someone explain to me the root structure and what does that mean in relations to my hibiscus tree?

    any advice please???


    thank you kindly,
    carlo
     

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  2. saltcedar

    saltcedar Rising Contributor 10 Years

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  3. thehandshake

    thehandshake Member

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    i got it in a flower shop that was going out of business. when i got it there wasn't any flowers. the leaves that you see on it are the ones that i had when i bought it, but now theyre dry and seem to be dying.
    since its winter here in montreal, i cant really put it in a garden.
    any tips or solutions?

    should i trim all the leaves off and spray it with a formula?
    i'm desperate here. please help.
     

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  4. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    OK, first of all it's being testy because its roots got damaged; it may drop all of those leaves or it may hang on to a few of them. I don't think you killed it, but it will sulk for a while, then regroup and put out more growth.

    Secondly, it's being testy because it has been outdoors; I understand it's been fairly chilly in Montreal lately, and I'd assume that to get a tree of that size home you had to put it in the back of a truck, and if you did manage to fit it inside a vehicle, at the very least it was exposed to the cold getting it out of the shop and into your house. It will sulk for at least a week on that one, and again it will most probably drop leaves.

    Bottom line - apart from watering it fairly regularly, leave it alone. Even here in the tropics, Hibiscus sulk when they're moved, and especially when their roots are touched. If you want to do anything at all while it's grumpy like this, the one thing you should do is get it a bigger pot, and replant it into this - it will probably speed up recovery because the plant won't feel cramped.

    Edit - and if there's a cold draft coming in that window, it might be a good idea to back the plant off a bit.
     
  5. thehandshake

    thehandshake Member

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    THANK YOU. SO. MUCH.
    truly.
    that was amazing.
    that's the info i was looking for.
    thank you dr. lorax

    i feel better.
     
  6. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    It does resemble a Hibiscus syriacus in which case it is a hardy deciduous shrub completely unsuitable for the indoor location shown. However, these ordinarily go yellow and shed at the first hint of autumn - but maybe the way the plant has been handled has caused it to retain leaves out of season or retain dead but still green leaves.

    Whatever the situation with the identity and behavior of your new specimen, two other points of interest are that the pot appears to be too small for it and you don't want to be piling soil or potting medium over the crown of a shrub. The point where the roots and stem meet should be at soil level. You will also find it is hard to water that mound of potting soil without having it erode down over the sides of the pot.
     
  7. togata57

    togata57 Generous Contributor 10 Years

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    YIKES!!! Please get the poor hibiscus into a MUCH bigger pot! As lorax said, it is not happy because of 1. being moved; 2. getting cold; and 3. being forced into an teeny weeny pot. ---Question: Why did you do #3? You say that you have another, healthy hibiscus, and the 2 other plants in your last photo look OK. So...? What was your idea?

    Agree with lorax's advice: be sure there is no cold draft wrapping its icy fingers around the hibiscus. Am thinking that you may have some size issues pretty soon---the thing is already huge. (You must have transported it in a charter bus.) What a deal for $15!

    Good luck to both you and the hibiscus. Let us know how it goes.
     
  8. thehandshake

    thehandshake Member

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    thank you everyone for your advice and yes, i will put it into a bigger pot.
    will keep you all updated on its progress. fingers crossed.
    thanks again!
     
  9. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    If a Hibiscus syriacus as it certainly looks to be in these pictures the cold drafts won't bother it a bit. That one is not a tropical plant like H. rosa-sinensis. Instead, you will have the opposite problem of it not being suited to the warmth, dryness and lack of winter cold period of the indoor location.
     
  10. thehandshake

    thehandshake Member

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    RON B in the house!

    thanks ron.
    good tip.
     
  11. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    If it definitely seems to be Rose of Sharon (H. syriacus) I would try to see about getting it into some kind of intermediate environment as soon as possible, the more like the outdoors the better. If those are hardy in your area put it outside in spring. Don't know about this one specifically but hardy deciduous trees and shrubs often require a winter dormant period to break bud and grow away again in spring. With orchard fruits this phenomenon is called "chilling hours", with it actually being known how long specific tree fruit cultivars need to be chilled in order to succeed.
     
  12. thehandshake

    thehandshake Member

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    thanks B-DAWG,

    much respects.

    you've all been great!
     

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