Moved my Hibiscus plant outside in the spring, it had spider mites, so treated it with soapy water and finally got rid of them .In the process it lost most of the leaves .New ones started ,but keep turning yellow and fall off.. The plant has flowered all summer long, the top has good leaves, but the rest of the tree is almost bear .Would appreciate any suggestions as to what to do .It has no bugs now as far as I can see , and afraid it will not survive the winter indoors
You can use Neem Oil or Special Blend Predator Mites to get rid of Spider mites. Better soap to use would be Dr.Bronner's, since it won't be chemically based like conventional soaps. Ladybugs and other beneficial insects also eat them. As for the hibiscus itself, I can only suggest searching the internet for your problem and a solution.
That's the problem, can not seem to find an answer to my problem, and as far as the spider mites I already got rid of them early in the summer with a natural spray
Hibiscus are rather fussy. Sounds like the plant is stressed out. The pests and treatment are certainly enough to make the plants lose their leaves. Hibiscus like consistent moisture, warm temperature and light fertilizer. They are sensitive to phosphorus, so do not respond well to "bloom food" type fertilizer. The stress of the pests might have allowed another disease to take hold. Just being outside this summer would have been a lot of stress for the plant, as we have gone from extremely warm and dry to cold and rainy.
Thank you for your Reply, You may just have given me my answer as I had been giving it Bloom type Fertilizer, I think I will try Re-potting it in fresh soil and see what happens, not sure if pruning would help at this time , so maybe I will wait. Thanks again Ernest
